On Sunday, Bayer 04 will take on Borussia Dortmund in the chasing duel. While Paulinho and Daley Sinkgraven are expected to return to the matchday line-up, the game will probably come too soon for winter buy Sardar Azmoun for various reasons.
Last Sunday, Bayer 04 signed Sardar Azmoun for a €2.5 million fee five months before the end of his contract at Zenit St. Petersburg. But when will the 27-year-old play for the Werkself for the first time? Before the Iranian international makes his debut for Leverkusen, there are still a few questions to be answered.
The centre-forward, who Bayer had already signed on a free deal eight days earlier from the summer until 2027, is in any case not yet in Leverkusen, although he was not in the line-up for Iran’s World Cup qualifier against the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday.
Azmoun misses both international matches
The flexible Azmoun (“He can play in all four offensive positions,” said manager Rudi Völler) had tested positive for COVID-19 at the end of the week before last, but tested negative again two days later. He missed the qualifying match against Iraq (1-0) on Thursday last week, however, allegedly because of a slight muscular injury that apparently forced him to sit out Tuesday as well.
Nevertheless, the technician, who is regarded as a refined and very smart player, did not make the trip to Germany prematurely, but was present at his national team’s match in Tehran on Tuesday, according to club sources. On Sunday, Russian sources said Azmoun was still COVID-19 positive and in quarantine in Dubai, where Zenit had moved into a training camp.
Now Leverkusen are hoping that Azmoun will turn up at the Bay Arena on Thursday. The exact date is still unclear, however, because the Iranian still needs a valid visa to enter the country, on which the timing of his appearance now depends.
If he receives this, he will have to undergo a performance diagnostic test after his arrival in order to determine Azmoun’s fitness level. Naturally, there are question marks behind this. After all, the player had to take a longer break following an injury suffered at the beginning of December and has also hardly been able to train with his Zenit colleagues since a slight muscle injury set him back in January.
First session not until Friday
And while it is unlikely that Azmoun contracted COVID-19 again in January, having already picked up the corona virus at the end of 2021, the attacker would be given a thorough check-up at Leverkusen first and would not be able to take part in his first session with his new colleagues until Friday at the earliest.
Since he is also said to be slightly overweight after his injury, Azmoun is not likely to be in top condition – and therefore not a candidate for the BVB match.
Paulinho and Sinkgraven return
A completely different story to attacking player Paulinho and left-back Daley Sinkgraven: The Brazilian, who had to take a precautionary step back from quarantine last week after a COVID-19 infection despite a free test, completed full team training on Tuesday, as did Sinkraven, who has recovered from a torn muscle fibre in his adductor muscles.
