Jamal Musiala returns to Bayern training after neurological issue

The Allianz Arena hosts Bayern Munich's title defense opener against Stuttgart this Friday, but one of the club's most decisive players will be watching from the stands. Jamal Musiala won't be in the starting lineup, or even on the bench, as the club continues to monitor a neurological issue that has kept him sidelined for nearly two weeks.

The good news, if it can be called that, is that Musiala was back training normally on Thursday. Head coach Vincent Kompany confirmed as much, explaining that the player is adjusting to a change in his medication, part of the process needed for him to return to the field without further incidents.

It all began on August 15, when Musiala collapsed during a preseason friendly against Leipzig. As if that weren't enough, the episode repeated itself three days later, on August 18, in another preparation match against Heidenheim. Two collapses in less than a week set off alarm bells in Munich, though the player himself downplayed the situation, explaining that he had been diagnosed with "absence seizures caused by a neurological dysfunction," but that there was "no additional risk to his health" and that he intended to keep playing normally.

What emerged afterward, from sporting director Max Eberl, was that Bayern had known about this condition for at least a season, and that it was actually a change in the player's medication that triggered the on field episodes. The goal now is the opposite: recalibrate the treatment to bring him back to where he was before.

Now the task is to adjust the medication again so he gets back to where we were before, a state in which he went a very long time without suffering any episodes.Max Eberl

Kompany, for his part, struck a cautious but optimistic tone about the next steps with his 23-year-old player.

That means he's getting used to the increased medication, that he's responding well to it. He'll be back in the squad at some point and back to playing normally, but of course that decision will be made together with all the medical experts. He's progressing well.Vincent Kompany

There's no fixed timeline for his return, and that's what sets this case apart from a routine muscle injury: here, medical judgment takes precedence over the calendar. In the meantime, Bayern kick off their Bundesliga season without one of their most dynamic attacking players, forced to solve the Stuttgart match with other offensive options. The priority, the club insists, is for Musiala to return only when he's truly ready, with no shortcuts and no added pressure.