Bayer 04 Leverkusen is making full use of the UEFA regulations for the Champions League squad: After the return of world champion Exequiel Palacios, the Werkself have nominated the Argentine strategist for the decisive phase of the league phase. As the regulations stipulate, the player who replaced him during the injury break must give way: Jeanuël Belocian.
Palacios comeback forces Belocian out
Since Palacios was out for more than the required 30 days following his serious adductor injury in September, Leverkusen was allowed to replace him with Belocian. After Palacios’ successful comeback in the 1-0 win against Werder Bremen, Bayer reversed this swap before the duel against Villarreal CF. Since the UEFA rule requires a one-for-one swap, Belocian is no longer available for the upcoming European tasks. For the French U21 international, this is the next disappointment after his difficult situation under coach Kasper Hjulmand.
Goalkeeper castling: Omlin replaces Flekken
At the same time, Leverkusen makes a change between the posts. New signing Jonas Omlin joins the squad for the premier class. This is made possible by the serious medial ligament injury suffered by regular goalkeeper Mark Flekken, who is expected to be out until March. If Flekken gets fit sooner, Bayer could reverse the swap in accordance with the statutes and delete Omlin in favor of the Dutchman.
