Jamal Musiala's Diagnosis After On-Pitch Collapse
Jamal Musiala has revealed he is living with “treatable absence seizures” after collapsing on the pitch for the second time in four days, but the Bayern Munich winger insists there is no long‑term threat to his health.
The 23-year-old went down eight minutes after coming on as a substitute in Bayern’s friendly against Heidenheim on Tuesday night. He had suffered a similar episode during Saturday’s warm-up match against RB Leipzig, raising serious concern as images of the incidents spread.
This time, Musiala chose to speak.
“I am doing well. I am incredibly grateful for your messages and your support!” he wrote on Instagram, addressing the anxiety that has built around him since the Leipzig game. “I understand that many of you are worried. I would like to put those concerns to rest today and explain the situation.”
He then set out the diagnosis in clear terms.
“I have been diagnosed with brief, temporary – but treatable – absence seizures resulting from a neurological dysfunction. These can lead to the kind of incidents seen recently, such as during the match against Leipzig or the game in Heidenheim.
“I know they might look alarming at first glance, but for me, they are currently part of my everyday life. I am receiving excellent medical care and remain very optimistic. FC Bayern and my personal support network are right by my side, helping me through this. Importantly, there is no further health risk involved.”
“My personal wish to face this challenge”
Musiala stressed that, with specialist clearance, he intends to keep playing and living as normally as possible.
“In close consultation and regular contact with the experts, it was my personal wish to face this challenge; with the medical clearance of the neurologists, I want to continue doing what helps my recovery most: simply living my life and pursuing my passion for playing football.”
On Tuesday, the episode unfolded quickly. Musiala replaced Ismael Saibari in the 61st minute against Heidenheim, only to be substituted himself eight minutes later for Cassiano Kiala. He appeared dazed as he received treatment and had to be helped from the pitch, a worrying sight even for those already aware of his condition.
Bayern’s sporting director, Max Eberl, moved to calm the situation shortly after the final whistle. “Jamal will speak about this in the near future. We knew about it and we are aware of the situation,” he said, indicating the club had been fully briefed and were managing the issue alongside the player.
On the night, Bayern still ran out 4-2 winners, with Felipe Chávez, Arijon Ibrahimovic, Luis Díaz and Nathaniel Brown all on the scoresheet. Yet the result felt secondary to the image of one of Europe’s brightest talents again needing medical attention, just days after collapsing against RB Leipzig.
Musiala has made it clear he intends to meet this head-on. The next question is how Bayern and Germany shape a season around a player determined to keep playing while living with a condition that has suddenly become part of his footballing reality.
