It was frosty and cold on Thursday morning when Heiko Herrlich held the last open training session ahead of Sunday's match against Schalke 04 (25 February, 15.30 CET). Cheering warmth for Bayer 04 not only came from the decent sunshine but also the physical condition of two key players: Wendell was back on the pitch with his team-mates and is in with a chance of being available for the game against the Royal Blues. However, as the Brazilian is not completely free of pain, medical treatment resumed after the training session.
While Wendell and Co. prepare for the next challenge in the league campaign, skipper Lars Bender is working hard on making his comeback from a muscle injury. Together with fitness coach Daniel Jouvin, he worked in a one-to-one session with the ball in the neighbouring Ulrich Haberland Stadium for an hour. The 28-year-old will return to the squad in the next few days but the game on Sunday comes too early for the captain.
The same applies to Jonthan Tah. The central defender is still struggling with a bout of flu. He was able to do some light work in the Performance Center on Thursday but coach Heiko Herrlich is not banking on naming the Werkself number four on the team sheet against Schalke.
Werkself player Ibrahim Maza has been named in the top ten in the ‘Men’s Young Talent of the Year’ category for 2026. The 20-year-old was at the London Palladium on Monday evening for the 2026 Ballon d’Or awards ceremony. Fernando Carro, Bayer 04 CEO, also attended the ceremony. Lamine Yamal of Barcelona was named the winner in the ‘Men’s Young Talent of the Year’ category.
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Bayer 04 will have to manage without forward Moussa Diaby for their upcoming matches. The 27-year-old Frenchman sustained a thigh injury in the 3-0 defeat against TSG Hoffenheim yesterday afternoon, Sunday 25 October. Diaby is expected to be available again after the international break in November.
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The Bayer 04 U19s are set to host Marseille in a top-level friendly. The match against the French side is at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Thursday, 5 November, at 14:00 CET. Admission is free for fans. A few hours later, the two clubs face each other in the Europa League at the BayArena.
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It has been a long time since feeling what it’s like to come away empty-handed. The last – and so far only – defeat of the season, in Elversberg, was two months ago. Since then, Bayer 04 have followed that up with seven wins and a draw. Now it has happened again away to TSG Hoffenheim. As the match progressed, the Werkself grew in confidence and “could even have scored the opening goal”, as Robert Andrich said after the game. In the end, it was the side from Sinsheim who sealed a 3–0 victory after “hectic closing stages” (kicker). The Werkself review.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04 Women's 0-2 loss at 1. FC Nürnberg on Matchday 8 of the 2026/27 Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga.
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