Following the debrief after the Bayern Munich game Tin Jedvaj, Aleksandar Dragovic and Co. headed for the training ground at the BayArena in temperatures of around 30 degrees. 17 outfield players and four goalkeepers were available at the start of the week as was the Europa League match ball the Werkself will be playing with for the first time this season.
The coaching staff organised football tennis matches and shooting practice to familiarize the players with the new white and orange ball. The players who completed the full 90 minutes against Bayern ended the training session half an hour earlier.
In addition to the four injured players Julian Baumgartlinger, Joel Pojanpalo, Panos Retsos (all in rehab) and Charles Aranguiz (knee), Lars Bender also missed the training session. The Werkself skipper was kicked on the calf in the fourth minute of the match against the champions of Germany and he had to go off 20 minutes later. "Lars is still injured. It's possible he may not be fit for Thursday," said Herrlich after the training session.
The Werkself train in Leverkusen again on Tuesday (closed session) and will have the final pre-match workout at the Ludogorets Arena on Wednesday.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen will to have manage without forward Eliesse Ben Seghir. The Morocco international suffered a ligament injury in his left ankle before the AFCON final defeat against Senegal (0-1 a.e.t.).
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The VBL Club Championship 2025/26 continues. Tonight, 27 January (live on Twitch and on the Bayer 04 app from 18:00 CET), the Leverkusen eSports team will play the remaining three matches in the online preliminary round of Showdown Four. They are up against FC Kaiserslautern, SC Freiburg and the current club champions and Showdown Three winners RB Leipzig, with whom Bayer 04, club runners-up and Showdown One winners, shared some memorable moments, especially last year. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed Swiss goalkeeper Jonas Omlin from Borussia Mönchengladbach. The 32-year-old joins the Werkself from the Lower Rhine Bundesliga club on loan to the end of the current season. This is the reaction of Bayer 04 to the injury to first choice keeper Mark Flekken, who faces a long spell on the sidelines.
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Welcome to Leverkusen, Jonas Omlin. Bayer 04 have signed the 32-year-old goalkeeper on loan from Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach until the end of the season. Managing director sport Simon Rolfes described the Swiss shot stopper, signed by the Werkself in reaction to the long-term absence of first choice keeper Mark Flekken, as an "internationally experienced keeper." Bayer04.de takes a closer look at the new signing, who will wear the number 18 jersey.
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Lucas Vázquez was the hero in Saturday's 1-0 home win against Werder Bremen, when the Spaniard scored his first Bundesliga goal to secure an important victory for Leverkusen. The 34-year-old right-sided recently met up with the Werkself magazine for an interview in the Düsseldorf restaurant Casa Galicia after the first few months of settling in to his new home in Germany. Over tapas, the five-time Champions League winner, who left Real Madrid in the summer after 18 years to continue his career at Bayer 04, spoke about his career to date, the new challenge in Leverkusen and the importance of family - and he paid a big compliment to the fans of his new club.
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