Kevin Volland underwent a successful operation on his ankle last night following the injury suffered in Thursday’s 2-1 win in the Europa League game against FC Porto. The operation was performed by Professor Walther at the Schön-Klinik Harlaching in Munich. The 27-year-old posted a thumbs-up photo from hospital on Instagram on Tuesday afternoon. In spite of the pain and the prospect of weeks in rehab, Volland has not lost his sense of humour as he wrote on his plaster cast with a wink of the eye: “The football boot is back on.” Volland will start his rehab treatment at the Werkstatt in Leverkusen.
While Volland is recovering from his operation, the Werkself fly out to Porto tomorrow (Wednesday) for the second leg in the Round of 32 tie (Thursday, 27 February, 18.55 CET – live text commentary and Werks11 Radio at bayer04.de). Both the Werkself and FC Porto enjoyed a boost at the weekend ahead of the game: The ‘Dragons’ beat next-to-bottom Portimonense SC in the league on Saturday. The winning goal was scored by Alex Telles a few minutes before the end of the game.
Talking about Europa League: If the Werkself go through to the Round of 16 on Thursday night, then Friday will be exciting. The draw in Nyon is at 13.00 CET.
Today, Shrove Tuesday, marks the end of the current carnival season – it’s been very colourful, entertaining and fun at Bayer 04 too. At the carnival parades in Leverkusen, Brian the Lion and the Schwadbus flew the flag for the club. On Friday, members of the Löwenclub were in Hitdorf, the Bayer 04 Club and the Silver Lions were in Schlebusch on Saturday and Bayer 04 members of staff were in Opladen on Rose Monday with countless sweets distributed at all parades. Unfortunately, the weather put paid to the hopes of the Teens04 on Sunday – the carnival procession in Wiesdorf was cancelled due to the prospect of heavy storms. The day was not a complete washout for the group – it ended on a high note with a 2-0 win for the Werkself against FC Augsburg at the BayArena.
The ‘Sportschau’ included Exequiel Palacios in their ‘Team of Matchday 23’. The ‘Kicker’ put Nadiem Amiri in their ‘Team of the Day’. The sports journal also named the 23-year-old as the Man of the Match after the Werkself game against FC Augsburg. The reasons: “He was the driving force in Bayer’s game, won the ball a lot in defence and often made himself available. Nadiem Amiri scored to make 2-0 at the end of an unstoppable run.”
While the Werkself still have eleven games to play in the Bundesliga, the #B04eSports players have their final matchday night. In the Virtual Bundesliga (VBL), Kai ‘Deto’ Wollin and Fabian ‘B04_Dubzje’ De Cae entertain Eintracht Frankfurt. The matches against the team in ninth place start at 20.30 CET. As usual, the games will be streamed live at Twich (https://www.twitch.tv/b04esports).
Standing on the pitch where the Werkself players perform - for many Bayer 04 club members, this wish became reality at this year's Members' kickabout. Around 400 active participants of all ages took the opportunity to experience the BayArena from a new and special perspective. And there was also plenty going on in the stands: The event attracted more than 1,000 visitors in total and provided an atmospheric end to the season.
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Lying third in the Bundesliga, the Werkself made a faltering start in 2026 after the winter break, but gradually rediscovered winning ways and, as in the previous campaign, were among the top 16 in Europe and the top four in the DFB Pokal. In the Bundesliga, the Werkself also remained in the race for Champions League qualification right to the end. However, because setbacks repeatedly crept into the Werkself's performances between good displays and crucial games, it was not quite enough to secure a UCL spot in the end. A season with many ups and downs brought sixth place and qualification for the UEFA Europa League. Part II of the review of the 2025/26 season.
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Rogier Meijer is leaving Bayer 04 Leverkusen and returning to his native Netherlands: The 44-year-old will take over at Eredivisie club Sparta Rotterdam on 1 July. Meijer has been part of the Werkself coaching set-up since the start of the 2025/26 season - first as assistant coach to Erik ten Hag, then on Kasper Hjulmand's staff.
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Following the final match of the 2025/26 season, the prevailing feeling was naturally one of disappointment after missing out on qualification for the Champions League. The Werkself finished the Bundesliga in sixth place, meaning they'll start the 2026/27 campaign in the Europa League. "But to talk negatively about everything now because of that would be wrong," stressed captain Robert Andrich following the final game, knowing that the past year at Bayer 04 was marked, more than almost any other, by the start of a new era and the courage to change – and in particular, the belief in a positive direction. Everyone was aware this process would need time. The first part of the 2025/26 season review.
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