MADRID: Bayer Leverkusen youngster Kai Havertz made his first start in the Champions League last month against Atletico Madrid but will be unable to help his team in Wednesday's last 16, second leg against Diego Simeone's side due to school exams.

Playmaker Havertz, 17, burst into the Leverkusen first team last October and has made eight 16 Bundesliga appearances this season, providing three assists, but the club announced on Tuesday that he had been left out of the trip to Atletico.

"Havertz has important exams at school," said a squad update from the club's Twitter account on Tuesday.

Leverkusen, Champions League finalists in 2002, trail Atletico 4-2 from the first leg and are without a win in their last four games in all competitions. They are 10th in the Bundesliga.

They halted a run of three straight defeats on Saturday with a 1-1 draw at home to Werder Bremen, their first game since coach Roger Schmidt was sacked. He has been replaced by Tayfun Korkut until the end of the season.