Musiala edges closer to return as Bayern weigh timing over urgency
Bayern Munich’s medical staff and coaching team face a familiar dilemma ahead of this weekend’s Bundesliga meeting with RB Leipzig: how to reintroduce a key player after a long and damaging absence without rushing the process.
Jamal Musiala, one of the club’s most influential attackers, is close to competitive action again after spending six months on the sidelines with a complex leg injury sustained last summer.
Bayern head coach Vincent Kompany said on Friday that the 22-year-old could be included in the squad if final checks go smoothly, signalling that Musiala’s recovery has entered its final phase.
“If all goes well today, the plan is that he will be there,” Kompany said.
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Musiala has not featured since Bayern’s Club World Cup quarter-final defeat by Paris St-Germain in early July, when a collision with goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma left him with a broken left leg and a dislocated ankle. The injury ruled him out for the remainder of the year and disrupted what had been shaping up as another defining season.
Before the setback, Musiala had been central to Bayern’s domestic success, contributing 21 goals and eight assists across all competitions as the club secured the Bundesliga title. His form carried over to international football, where he scored three times in five matches for Germany at Euro 2024, further cementing his status as one of the national side’s creative focal points.
Kompany suggested that the psychological lift of returning may be as important as any immediate on-field contribution.
“Obviously Jamal has a lot of positive energy coming out of this dark tunnel,” he said.
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“Then, even the small things feel great. I tell my players to never forget this feeling of coming back.”
Despite the significance of Musiala’s return, Bayern are keen to keep expectations realistic. Kompany stressed that neither Musiala nor Alphonso Davies who has also recently completed his own recovery is expected to influence matches straight away.
“I don’t expect them to decide games for us,” Kompany said.
“I want a good integration with a good performance and at some point to be at 100%.”
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Davies, 25, missed the opening months of the campaign after suffering a cruciate ligament injury but has been back in action since December. His gradual reintegration has served as a reference point for Bayern’s cautious approach with Musiala, particularly with the longer-term objective of maintaining fitness ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
For Bayern, the priority now is balance: welcoming back one of their most gifted players while ensuring his recovery remains intact.
Sources: BBC Sport
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