Werkself prepare for Europa League opener

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. 

question mark over Lars Bender

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.