Jamal Musiala's Health Scare During Friendly Match
Jamal Musiala steadied himself, then crumpled.
He had only been on the pitch in Heidenheim for six minutes. Vincent Kompany had turned to him in the 61st minute, sending him on for new signing Ismael Saibari. A routine change in a summer friendly, nothing more. Until it wasn’t.
In the middle of the pitch, the 23-year-old suddenly went down. The scene instantly dragged memories back to the incident against RB Leipzig days earlier. Jonathan Tah and Harry Kane sprinted towards him, arms waving urgently. Players from both sides closed in, forming a protective ring as emergency doctors rushed on.
For a few tense moments, football stopped.
Musiala eventually rose, unsteady and clearly disoriented, leaning on a member of staff as he shuffled towards the touchline. After a few metres he turned away from the dugout and disappeared down the tunnel on the far side. Concern spread through the Voith-Arena, then turned into something else.
The crowd began to chant his name.
When the stadium announcer confirmed that Cassiano Kiala would replace him, applause rolled around the stands. Bayern Munich’s 4-2 win suddenly felt like background noise.
“First things first – I’m fine”
In the mixed zone after the final whistle, Bayern’s board member for sport Max Eberl was immediately asked about Musiala.
“Jamal will speak about it himself in the foreseeable future. We knew and know about it,” Eberl said. And his condition in that moment? “He’s in the dressing room, he’s getting changed, he’s having a shower.”
Shortly afterwards, Musiala delivered the explanation Eberl had hinted at. On Instagram, he posted a long message.
“First things first – I’m fine,” he wrote. He acknowledged the wave of concern and moved quickly to address it. He explained that he has been diagnosed with “temporary, briefly occurring but easily treatable absences, which are due to a neurological dysfunction.”
“These can lead to the moments that have happened recently, like against Leipzig or now here in Heidenheim,” he added. “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.”
What Musiala is dealing with
The diagnosis he described – absences – refers to brief, sudden lapses of consciousness, typically a form of epileptic seizure. They usually last only around five to 15 seconds. In that window, those affected stare ahead, unresponsive, then quickly come back without any memory of the episode.
It sounds dramatic. Medically, it is often controllable. The condition can be treated with medication, and Musiala made clear he is already under specialist care.
The Bayern playmaker had already scared teammates and fans once this pre-season, collapsing shortly before the end of Saturday’s friendly against RB Leipzig (3-1). He then missed the team presentation at the Campus on Monday, working only individually. Against that backdrop, his appearance in Heidenheim was unexpected.
Then came another collapse, and the friendly instantly lost its meaning.
Goals overshadowed by worry
On paper, Bayern’s 4-2 victory at the Voith-Arena looked like a productive workout. Felipe Chavez, Arijon Ibrahimovic, Luis Diaz and new signing Nathaniel Brown all found the net. Kompany’s side showed attacking variety, spread the goals around, and continued to build rhythm ahead of the new campaign.
But every conversation after the game circled back to one subject.
Musiala’s health turned the match into a footnote, even with a Supercup trip to Borussia Dortmund looming on Saturday. For a squad and a club trying to reset under a new coach, the form of their most gifted attacking midfielder was supposed to be one of the big storylines of pre-season. Instead, the priority is making sure he is simply okay.
A long road back
The latest scare arrives on top of a brutal year and a half for Musiala’s body.
More than a year ago, he broke his fibula at the Club World Cup and suffered severe damage to his ankle joint. The injury forced him into a long layoff and left its mark. He returned in January, but the electric, free-flowing version of Musiala has rarely been seen since.
Right after his disappointing World Cup, he had a metal plate removed from his left foot. One operation, then another setback. One rehab, then another interruption. Just when he seemed ready to build continuity again, these neurological episodes appeared.
Now Bayern must balance two realities: a player desperate to play and a medical situation that demands caution.
The goals in Heidenheim will be forgotten quickly. What lingers is the image of Musiala on the turf, teammates rushing to him, a stadium holding its breath. With Dortmund and the Supercup up next, the question is no longer how central he will be to Kompany’s plans.
It’s how carefully Bayern dare to write the next chapter of his career.
