Lars Bender and Leon Bailey were on the training ground in drizzle. They worked on their own on running plus some ball work. Good news: Daley Sinkgraven, who suffered a thigh injury in the 1-1 draw with RB Leipzig at the start of October, returned to training, also on an individual basis.
Bad news from the north of Europe: Werkself striker Joel Pohjanpalo, away with the Finland team preparing for the Euro qualifier against Liechtenstein on Friday (15 November), suffered a ligament injury in his left ankle in training. "And that just before one of the most important games in my career," said the 25-year-old on his Instagram platform. Pohjanpalo will start rehab in Finland. "I want to give this fantastic team my full support," said the Finn ahead of a possible first qualification for the European Championship finals. The striker is due to return to Leverkusen in the middle of next week.
Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez wore a Werkself shirt for two years before moving on to Premier League club West Ham United and then his current club Seville who he joined in the summer. During the derby game against Real Betis (1-2) there was an attempted break-in at the Hernandez villa. A member of the household staff intervened and raised the alarm. The perpetrators were able to flee. Fortunately nobody was hurt
Werkself pro Paulinho will not easily forget the big day: First, the Brazilian scored his first Bundesliga goal to settle the 2-0 win against VfL Wolfsburg. After the game, the 19-year-old was named Man of the Match. Moreover: The South American is the first the Bayer 04 player born in 2000 to score in Germany's top flight. On Monday the winger flew out to Gran Canaria for Thursday’s game between the Brazil U23 side and the USA U23s.
Following the regeneration session, Kevin Volland was interviewed by the Bayer 04 TV team. In the fan shop at the BayArena, the 27-year-old talked about the victory against Wolfsburg, the international break – and answered a cheeky question from a fellow player put by video as ever in the interview of the week. Which team-mate that was and how Volland answered the question can be seen on Thursday on YouTube and at bayer04.de.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed France U17 international Kenan Doganay. The 1.90-metre-tall defensive midfielder, who has Turkish roots, joins Leverkusen from the U19s at French top-flight club Olympique Lyon. He will initially train with and play for the U19 team.
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The Sports Tribunal of the German Football Association (DFB) has fined Bayer 04 Leverkusen €185,000 for spectators setting off pyrotechnic devices during a total of five competitive matches. This relates to four Bundesliga matches and the DFB Pokal semi-final against Bayern Munich. The highest individual fine relates to the away match at FC Köln at the end of April.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with U19 goalkeeper Simeon Rapsch. The Germany youth international goalkeeper has signed a long-term contract with the Werkself running to 30 June 2029. The 18-year-old joined Leverkusen from FC Viktoria Köln in the summer of 2024.
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Ken Izekor is leaving Bayer 04 Leverkusen to join third-tier side Alemannia Aachen with immediate effect. The 19-year-old centre-forward joined the club from Alemannia in 2018, and Izekor is now returning to his hometown.
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