Three days after being rushed from the sidelines of a reserve-team session, Vincent Kompany remains in a Munich hospital with no diagnosis attached to his name. His condition is stable, but the tests continue.
Sporting director Max Eberl spent Saturday at Kompany’s bedside and spoke to Sky Germany the next day. By his own account, the two men consciously left the day job at the door.
“He is stable. I visited him on Saturday. We talked about life; we didn’t talk about football, the starting XI or the Bundesliga,” Eberl told Sky Germany, as reported by Bulinews.
The 40-year-old Belgian had been battling a viral infection for several days when he collapsed on Friday afternoon while watching Bayern’s amateurs train. The illness had already forced him to skip the pre-match press conference before Wednesday’s Champions League tie against Arsenal.
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Eberl told reporters at Saturday’s briefing that Kompany had been struggling with the virus and a hip problem in the days leading up to the collapse, and had admitted he should have listened to his body sooner.
No timetable, and no pressure
Eberl was clear that the priority is the diagnosis, not the dugout.
“The most important thing is that we find out exactly what it is, without leaving anything unchecked, and then let the treatment take its course,” he told Sky Germany.
A return will only be considered once Kompany is back to full strength and, above all, healthy, Eberl added. The club has repeated that stance in its own communications, saying there is no time pressure on the manager’s comeback.
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Danks keeps Bayern winning
Assistant coach Aaron Danks took charge on the touchline at Freiburg on Sunday and oversaw a 3-1 away win in Kompany’s absence. He will remain in the role until Kompany is cleared to return.
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