Bayer Leverkusen Injury Update: Florian Wirtz latest details, recovery timeline

Bayer Leverkusen’s star player and wonder kid Florian Wirtz has faced a grave injury that has sidelined him for quite some time. This comes at a poor timing for Xabi Alonso’s club which is failing to replicate its wonderful form from last season. Bayer Leverkusen pulled off history last season ending Bayern Munich’s 10-year consecutive winning streak. Bayer Leverkusen won the 2023-2024 Bundesliga as invincibles which meant that they did not lose any match throughout the season.

They also won the German Cup in the same season which sealed the domestic double for them. It is already quite a difficult task to replicate such form and Leverkusen’s title defense has worsened even more because of Florian Wirtz picking up an injury in a disappointing 2-0 loss against Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga.

Florian Wirtz came on as a substitute in the second half because he was rested from the start. However, just after 15 minutes, Florian was injured in a challenge from Werder Bremen’s Mitchell Weiser. Wirtz could not even walk properly and left the stadium on crutches. The club has confirmed via an MRI scan that it is an ankle ligament injury in his right leg which will sideline him for several weeks. This is quite an unfortunate injury for Florian Wirtz who is an underrated talent compared to the likes of Pedri, Musiala, and Bellingham who play at much bigger clubs which are FC Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Real Madrid respectively.

The injury suffered is expected to affect further plans for Bayer Leverkusen. On that note, read below and get a detailed overview of how the forward faced the injury, the freshest update on the situation, the impact of the blow on the club, his possible replacements, and his return to action date.

Florian Wirtz Injury Update

Florian Wirtz has suffered from an ankle ligament injury in his right leg which has sidelined him for several weeks and an exact timeline is yet to be given for his recovery and return.

Let’s have a look at what the club has said :

“Bayer 04 will have to manage without Florian Wirtz. The Germany international suffered a ligament injury in his right ankle in the home game against Werder Bremen (0-2) on Saturday. That was the diagnosis from an MRI scan following the game. The 21-year-old midfielder will be out of action for several weeks.”

The club’s managing director Simon Rolfes has also stated this :

“The loss of Florian hits us hard in this phase of the season but we will compensate for him with a strong squad. We know Florian and also know he will come back as soon as possible. Everybody will support him in that. We are assuming he will be fully fit again for the end of the season run-in.”

Impact Of Florian Wirtz’s Injury On Bayer Leverkusen’s Squad And Strategy

As stated before, Bayer Leverkusen are already under-performing as compared to their previous season and Bayern Munich have picked up their usual form and are back in business. Bayern Munich are in 1st place currently with 61 points in 25 games whereas Leverkusen are in second place with 53 points in 25 appearances.

Bayer Leverkusen still have a small but decent chance at winning the 2024-2025 Bundesliga but that is only if Bayern Munich loses their matches like they just did recently 3-2 against Bochum and only if Leverkusen does not drop any points. As in the UEFA Champions League, their chances of making it to the next round are also quite faint as well. The first leg clash in the Round Of 16 between Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen ended 3-0 already putting Xabi Alonso’s team on the backfoot.

However, the absence of Florian Wirtz will hamper their already faint chances of winning the Bundesliga and progressing further into the UEFA Champions League. Florian is a great attacking midfielder who is arguably among the top five in the world right now. Wirtz has already scored 15 goals in 39 appearances for Bayer Leverkusen across all competitions in the 2024-2025 season.

Wirtz is an attacking midfielder who likes to take on players and dribble past them smoothly often finding pockets of spaces between the defense and the midfield. He is quite creative often creating dangerous attacking plays, assisting and even scoring as well.

Bayer Leverkusen are a great side without Wirtz and in no way do they need to rely only on one player. However, Florian is a level above the others, Bayer Leverkusen will manage to play their own game without him but with him, they are a different side since his relentless dribbling, brilliant creativity and work rate qualities are amongst the best youngsters in the world.

Possible Replacements And Tactical Adjustments

Xabi Alonso will still try to fire on all fronts with Bayer Leverkusen without Florian Wirtz. A possible replacement or perhaps a tactical adjustment would be to play Victor Boniface as a striker upfront and Patrick Schick in the number 10 role.

Other possibilities are Emi Buendia playing alongside Patrick Schick in the midfield with Granit Xhaka as a CDM and Boniface upfront. There can be a few tactical adjustments and Xabi Alonso can either employ those or play Emi Buendia in Wirtz’s place.

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