Jamal Musiala to miss Super Cup as Bayern Munich exec says fainting due to medication change
Bayern Munich have confirmed Jamal Musiala will miss his Saturday’s Super Cup against Borussia Dortmund after fainting in two successive matches.
The 23-year-old revealed earlier this week that he is being treated for a “neurological dysfunction”. Bayern’s board member for sport, Max Eberl explained during Friday’s press conference that Musiala’s two fainting incidents happened following a change to his medication.
Head coach Vincent Kompany confirmed the Germany international would not be included in the squad for Saturday’s game and had been training individually this week.
“It’s the first time for the public, so obviously a lot of questions arise,” Kompany told reporters. “We’ve been dealing with it for longer, though. That initial shock was a while ago, since then we’ve been given a lot more information and have made decisions with the help of the best experts.
“Jamal has the support of everyone. Internally we’re at a point where we’re not speaking about it much anymore. We’ve been prepared for it for a long time, have our processes and are very optimistic.”
Kompany continued: “We know how we need to deal with it. He’s training individually this week. He changed something in his treatment, which had some side effects. It’s completely normal to change something in a treatment. Now we want to get it back to how it was before.
“He’s made a huge step forward in his football. He’s showing it in training too. We’re looking forward to when he can show that in matches again. He’s not in the squad for tomorrow. It’s about adapting to the treatment.”
On Tuesday, Musiala collapsed a few minutes after coming on as a substitute in Bayern’s pre-season friendly against Heidenheim. That followed a similar incident on Saturday, when the midfielder left the field after passing out in almost identical fashion during another friendly, against RB Leipzig.
On each occasion, club doctors rushed onto the pitch and Musiala was surrounded by teammates to protect his privacy. He was able to walk off the field on each occasion, albeit appearing dazed. After the Heidenheim game, Musiala posted on social media to explain his diagnosis.
“It was Jamal’s wish to communicate it,” Eberl said. “Internally we’ve known about it for longer, including the players. For us it’s become everyday life.
“He changed something in the medication, which is why the episodes became visible. Now we want to get back to where it was before, when these episodes didn’t occur.”
Following the Heidenheim game, Musiala posted a statement on Instagram that read: “I’ve been diagnosed with temporary, brief, but easily treatable absence seizures, which are due to a neurological dysfunction. These can lead to the recent incidents, like the one against Leipzig or now in Heidenheim.
“I know these things might seem scary at first glance — but for me, they’re currently part of my everyday life. I’m receiving the best medical treatment and am very optimistic. Importantly, there is no further health risk. I have a very good feeling and am on the right track.”
Bayern won last season’s Bundesliga, their second consecutive title, while Dortmund finished second.