"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.
Bayer 04 will have to manage without defender Guéla Doué for the time being. The Ivory Coast international sustained a muscle injury to his right calf during the final Werkself training session yesterday ahead of the Europa League clash with Slovenian champions NK Celje.
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For the first time since reaching the final against AS Roma (2–2, first leg 2–0) in May 2024, Bayer 04 are playing another home match in the UEFA Europa League – and they will be wearing their new European kit. On Wednesday 16 September (kick-off: 21:00 CEST), the BayArena will welcome Slovenian champions NK Celje, who appointed a new coach this week following a mixed start to the season. Under the slogan “40 Years Across Europe. Still Creating History.”, the Black and Reds now aim to add the next chapter to their European history, which has seen so much success in recent years. Bayer 04 fans can follow the match on free-to-air TV on RTL, as well as on Sky and Werkself Radio. The matchday news.
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European football returns to the BayArena: Bayer 04 host Slovenian champions NK Celje on matchday 1 in the group stage of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League. Ahead of the match on Wednesday 16 September (kick-off: 21:00 CEST), head coach Carles Martínez and midfielder Aleix Garcia spoke at the pre-match press conference. The focus was primarily on the great anticipation surrounding the competition and the clear objectives for it – and, given the circumstances, on a last-minute change to the opposition line-up.
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The champions of Slovenia NK Celje are in a European competition for the fourth time in their history. This Wednesday, 16 September (kick-off: 21:00 CEST), the side lead by head coach Vitor Campelos visit the BayArena for matchday 1 in the group stage in the UEFA Europa League. Celje’s last match at the weekend did not go to plan. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Construction work continues on the ‘Haus der Talente’ on Kurtekottenweg in Leverkusen, where 36 young elite athletes will find a new home from next summer. The building team from Temmink Bau, led by Thomas Wellers, are hard at work. Over the past few days, excavators, wheeled loaders and rollers have removed 2,500 cubic metres of soil to excavate the basement.
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