Nowotny to miss Madrid rematch
Thursday, September 9, 2004
Article summary
Jens Nowotny is losing the race to be fit for Bayer 04 Leverkusen's Group B game against Real Madrid CF.
Article body
Jens Nowotny is losing his battle to be fit for Bayer 04 Leverkusen's opening UEFA Champions League game against Real Madrid CF on Wednesday.
Knee problems
The Germany central defender, who has suffered two cruciate ligament injuries in recent seasons, underwent surgery to clean his right knee two weeks ago. The 30-year-old will miss Saturday's Bundesliga game against newly promoted 1. FSV Mainz 05, and although he could make a return to training at the beginning of next week, he is unlikely to be available for next Wednesday's Group B game at the BayArena.
History repeated
The meeting with Madrid offers Leverkusen an opportunity to exact a revenge of sorts for their 2-1 defeat by Madrid in the Champions League final in 2002. Nowotny was forced to watch that game from the sidelines after he was stretchered off injured during the semi-final against Manchester United FC.
