After the Werkself gathered for recovery and match replacement training plus the first post-match analysis the day after the 4-2 defeat against RB Leipzig, head coach Peter Bosz continued working with his players in open sessions on Monday and Tuesday.
Good news for Bayer 04: Kevin Volland, who missed training at the start of the week due to a cold, was back on the training ground on Tuesday. Together with fitness coach Daniel Jouvin, the Werkself striker completed an individual session on the neighbouring pitch. He was later joined by Jonathan Tah and Lars Bender after the pair had completed the first part of the training session together with their team-mates. Both Tah (workload control) and the skipper Bender, who has been sidelined with a hamstring problem recently, both trained on their own on Monday. The same applied to Leon Bailey on Tuesday. The Jamaican was given a special fitness program by the coaching staff which involved a session in the gym at the BayArena in the morning.
In contrast to the quartet, who should be available for the game at Stuttgart, this season has already come to an end for Joel Pohjanpalo. The 24-year-old, who recently returned to training and celebrated his comeback in the friendly against Ajax after eight months sidelined through injury, complained about pain in his right ankle. In the view of the medical section, there is no alternative to a long lay-off for the Finland international albeit the apparent set-back does represent a further improvement in the health of the bone structure in his foot. That means the Werkself will be without a second player for the rest of the campaign with Karim Bellarabi also ruled out due to injury.
There is no full training session on Wednesday and the final two ahead of the Stuttgart match on Saturday will be held behind closed doors.
Bayer 04 have signed left-back Carolin Simon from champions Bayern Munich for the coming season. The 33-year-old former Germany international, who played for Leverkusen from 2013 to 2016, has signed a contract to 30 June 2028.
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Bayer 04 Women have strengthened for the coming season with the signing of Lobke Loone. The 23-year-old Dutch striker joins from Utrecht on a contract until 30 June 2028.
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The Werkself returned from the near one-month break in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga with a convincing victory at home. Roberto Pätzold's side beat SC Freiburg 4-1 on Sunday afternoon, with goals from Katharina Piljic, Estrella Merino Gonzalez, Cornelia Kramer and Carlotta Wamser ensuring a 13th win of the season at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion. The Black and Reds, who are now on 40 points, move up to fourth place at least overnight.
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The fifth consecutive derby win over 1. FC Köln was a hugely significant one in terms of the battle for the UEFA Champions League places. Goalkeeper Janis Blaswich, speaking for the whole team, dedicated the 2-1 victory in the cathedral city to the travelling support: "I'm especially happy about this victory for our fans!" Get the rest of the reaction from those involved and the media, as well as some impressive stats on two-goal hero Patrik Schick and a look at the all-time Bundesliga table, in the Werkself Review.
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