Jamal Musiala's Health Concerns: Diagnosis and Recovery
Jamal Musiala steadied himself, then crumpled.
Brought on in the 61st minute in Heidenheim, the Bayern playmaker had barely been on the pitch six minutes when he suddenly went down in midfield. The scene was chillingly familiar. It looked just like the incident against RB Leipzig days earlier.
Jonathan Tah and Harry Kane sprinted towards him instantly. Players from both sides closed in, forming a protective circle as emergency doctors rushed on. For a few tense moments, the Voith-Arena fell into that strange silence football grounds only know when something feels bigger than the game.
Musiala received treatment on the turf, then slowly got back to his feet. Supported by a member of staff, he staggered towards the touchline, visibly disorientated. After a few metres, he turned, then disappeared down the tunnel on the opposite side of the pitch.
The fans responded the only way they could. They chanted his name. When the stadium announcer confirmed he was being replaced by Cassiano Kiala, applause rolled around the ground.
Bayern calm fears, Musiala explains diagnosis
In the mixed zone after Bayern’s 4-2 win, board member for sport Max Eberl tried to bring some calm.
“Jamal will speak about it himself in the foreseeable future. We knew and know about it,” he said when asked about the midfielder’s condition. As for his immediate state, Eberl added: “He’s in the dressing room, he’s getting changed, he’s having a shower.”
Musiala did not wait long to speak. A few minutes later, he posted a detailed message on Instagram.
“First things first – I’m fine,” he wrote. “I understand that many of you are worried. I would like to take that worry away from you today and explain it to you: I have been diagnosed with temporary, briefly occurring but easily treatable absences, which are due to a neurological dysfunction.”
He continued: “These can lead to the moments that have happened recently, like against Leipzig or now here in Heidenheim. I know that at first glance they look scary – but for me they are currently part of everyday life. I am receiving the best possible medical treatment for this and am very optimistic.” According to Musiala, there is “no further health risk beyond that.”
From a medical standpoint, absences are short, sudden lapses of consciousness, typically a form of epileptic seizure. They usually last only around five to 15 seconds. Those affected stare blankly, do not respond, then recover quickly but remember nothing of the episode. The condition can be treated with medication, and in many cases cured.
A win overshadowed
On any other day, Bayern’s performance in the test match would have drawn the headlines. Vincent Kompany’s side put four past Heidenheim, with Felipe Chavez, Arijon Ibrahimovic, Luis Diaz and new signing Nathaniel Brown all on the scoresheet in a 4-2 victory.
Instead, the result felt like background noise.
Musiala’s collapse came at the end of a worrying few days. He had already gone down shortly before the final whistle in Saturday’s friendly against RB Leipzig (3-1). He then skipped the team presentation at the Campus on Monday, working only individually. Against that backdrop, his appearance in Heidenheim had already raised eyebrows.
Now the focus is squarely on his health and his path back to full stability, not just form.
A long road back for Bayern’s prodigy
Musiala’s latest setback comes on top of a brutal year and a half for his body. More than a year ago, he broke his fibula at the Club World Cup and suffered severe damage to his ankle joint. He returned in January, but the old lightness, the old explosiveness, has yet to fully return.
Right after a disappointing World Cup, he also had a metal plate removed from his left foot. Every time he has tried to build rhythm since, something has interrupted it.
Now Bayern head into Saturday’s Supercup trip to Borussia Dortmund with a 4-2 win, a handful of encouraging performances, and one overriding question: when will their most gifted technician finally be able to play without the shadow of his own body hanging over him?
