"Charly brought the muscular problems back from his holiday. He's an important player for us so the injury obviously hurts us," said Peter Bosz who explained that Aránguiz had to break off a training run back home. As the Chilean had further problems with his calf in yesterday's warm-up, an MRI scan was organised for the evening. The 30-year-old flew back to Germany on Tuesday morning for further investigations. A final diagnosis remains to be made. Despite that, Bosz made it clear: "He will stay in Leverkusen and can start rehab there straight away."
Kerem Demirbay's injury is less severe. The 26-year-old twisted his ankle in training yesterday but examinations did not reveal any serious injury. "His ankle was taped this morning and we hoped he could join in. But I saw straight away that he was limping a bit. Therefore we didn't want to take any risks with today's football fitness training as that's when the risk is highest," said the head coach. Demirbay returned to the team hotel early but should be back in training in the short term.
There was also positive news from La Manga, for example with today's training session. Speaking about the fitness session that is usually the toughest of the week, Bosz said: "I was very happy with the session today. I'm very satisfied!" After the warm-up, the coach had his players practising intense attacking football in 11 against 11 with four 13 minute games. After two rounds the number of players was reduced to ten against ten and it finished with one less player on each side.
At the end of the session, Bayer 04 youngster Emrehan Gedikli from the U17s made an appearance. The 16-year-old is currently staying at the same hotel with the Germany U 17 team for a course and, without further ado, he swapped the Germany shirt for a Black and Red one. That all happened under the eyes of the Germany U21 coach Stefan Kuntz who was on the touchline to watch proceedings on the pitch.
After the very intensive session, the Werkself rested on Monday afternoon to gather strength for tomorrow – as once again there are two sessions planned for the day. The morning training will be held behind closed doors. The session in the afternoon is open. All fans at home will be able to see the Werkself on Friday 10 January. Both games on the double matchday against FC Utrecht (15.00 CET) and FC St Gallen (16.00 CET) will be broadcast live on bayer04.de, Facebook and YouTube. It's worth taking a note of those times now.
The German Football Association (DFB) has officially recognised Bayer 04 as a centre for the development of female talent for the 2026/27 season. The club was awarded that role on 1 January 2026, and this status has now been renewed.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have sold young defender Andrea Natali to AZ Alkmaar on permanent terms. The 18-year-old Italian was on loan at the Dutch club last season, where he mainly played for the reserve team in the second division.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have loaned new signing Luca Erlein to newly promoted FC Energie Cottbus for the 2026/27 season. This will give him the opportunity to play in Bundesliga 2. The club signed the 19-year-old right-back on a permanent basis last week, on a contract to 30 June 2030.
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Trophies as a youth, appearances in the pro game and his first taste of international competition: new arrival Luca Erlein, who has been signed from TSG Hoffenheim, can already look back on some remarkable achievements and moments in his fledgling career. We take a closer look at the 19-year-old right-back, who can also fill other roles across the defensive line.
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