The Werkself started training this week on Monday afternoon without Sven Bender: The Bayer 04 number five picked up a foot injury in Saturday's 3-0 win in the friendly at Sportfreunde Siegen and is likely to be out of action for a couple of days. In contrast, there was positive news for Dominik Kohr who completed two one-on-one sessions on the training ground with fitness coach Daniel Jouvin on Monday following his knee injury – the 24-year-old may return to full training in the next few days. The same applies to Panos Retsos who will have a carbon splint fitted on Tuesday after his metacarpal fracture – he is due to return to full training at the training camp in Zell am See.
The Kicker sports journal has reviewed and ranked the Bundesliga pros for last season. The rankings for the positions of central defence and goalkeeper were published in today's edition (#60): In the view of the editors, Jonathan Tah achieved fifth place in the 'International class' for his number of challenges and ability to start moves. And his fellow defender Sven Bender (fifteenth) was ranked in the 'Up and coming' group. A total of 18 players qualified. Amongst the goalkeepers, Bernd Leno also finished in the 'Up and coming' group in ninth position. The shot-stopper has moved on to Arsenal to take on a new challenge in the Premier League. His successor in goal for the Werkself, the former Eintracht Frankfurt keeper, Lukas Hradecky, was the sixth-best goalkeeper in the Bundesliga according to Kicker. Congratulations to all 04!
It's common knowledge that there are a number of motor sport fans at the Werkself. After Lars and Sven Bender went to the Austrian Grand Prix in July, Benny Henrichs and Jonathan Tah used their day off on Sunday to go and watch Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and Co. in the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim. The Bayer 04 defenders met up with a number of guests including World Champion Nico Rosberg, Germany striker Timo Werner and celebrity photographer Paul Ripke.
Werkself pro Leon Bailey had an exclusive media session at the Fritz-Jacobi-Halle in Leverkusen-Manfort. At the end of March, he was able to witness the unconventional training methods used by sprinter Gina Lückenkemper – also in relation to the forthcoming German Championships for the TSV Bayer Leverkusen athlete. After the 21-year-old successfully defended her 100-metre national title at the weekend, the Werkself number nine sent his congratulations to the athlete. The super fast Jamaican wished the top German sprinter every success at the European Championships in Berlin (7 to 12 August) in a video message.
The Werkself face fourth tier Wuppertaler SV in the third pre-season friendly tomorrow. The game at the Stadion am Zoo (Hubertusallee 4, 42117 Wuppertal) kicks off at 19.00 CET. As in Saturday's game against Siegen, Bayer 04 TV will again broadcast the match live on bayer04.de and the Werkself Facebook page. In addition, the Social Media section will be there to report via the usual club streams.
A simple approach to sport with games, fun and a highlight at the end: Bayer 04 organised a very special training session for 40 participants aged between six and 27 in cooperation with the Football Association of the Middle Rhine (FVM). At the day of action for women and girls with disabilities at the Kurtekotten Performance Centre, many of the participants gained their first experience of football.
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On Saturday, 28 March, the lights will go out again at the BayArena from 20:30 pm to 21:30. As in previous years, Bayer 04 once again take part in the WWF Earth Hour campaign under the motto "We're switching off" as the club wants to set a collective example for more climate and environmental protection together with people, cities and companies around the world.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen are bringing back Kerim Alajbegovic, who joined Red Bull Salzburg in the summer of 2025. The Bundesliga club activated the buy-back option in the contract with the Bosnia international, who has enjoyed great success at the Austrian top-flight club since the start of the current season. Alajbegovic moved to Salzburg from the Leverkusen U19s last year. The 1.86-metre forward has signed a five-year contract at Leverkusen with a start date of 1 July 2026.
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Less than a year ago, Kerim Alajbegovic moved from the Bayer 04 U19s to Austrian top-flight club FC Red Bull Salzburg. The forward’s development since then has been impressive. In 36 matches, including in the UEFA Europa League, the 18-year-old has scored 14 goals. In the summer, Alajbegovic, now a Bosnia international, will return to Leverkusen - and thus not only achieve the next milestone still early in his career, but also enrich the Werkself squad with his footballing versatility and determination.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have extended the contract with forward Nathan Tella ahead of schedule. The versatile 26-year-old, who can be deployed as a right winger, false nine or left winger, has penned a new contract to 30 June 2031. Tella joined the Werkself from Championship club Southampton in 2023. His previous contract ran to the summer of 2028.
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