Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen confirmed on Thursday that Chilean midfielder Charles Aránguiz (33) would be sidelined for the foreseeable future due to ongoing problems with an old calf injury.
Aránguiz last played for Die Werkself in mid-October and is not expected to return to until January at the earliest, according to Kicker. That means that the central-midfielder will miss at least the first phase of Bayer Leverkusen’s winter preparation, which runs until December 18.
If Aránguiz is fit by January, the player would have had two-and-a-half months without any match practice, which puts him behind fellow competition in midfield as Leverkusen prepare for the resumption of the Bundesliga.
On Wednesday, Mitchel Bakker (cold), Sardar Azmoun (World Cup) and Florian Wirtz (load management) all returned to training for Bayer Leverkusen but Patrik Schick (groin), Callum Hudson-Odoi (personal reasons), Timothy Fosu-Mensah (muscular), Piero Hincapie, Exequiel Palacios and Jeremie Frimpong (World Cup) are yet to return.
Bayer Leverkusen play Rangers in a friendly at Ibrox on Saturday which could see a switch from Xabi Alonso’s preferred 3-4-3 to a 4-3-3.
GGFN | Daniel Pinder
