Uli Hoeneß says Bayern Munich ‘speechless’ after Jamal Musiala health episode

Bayern Munich honorary president Uli Hoeneß says the club is “speechless” after Germany international Jamal Musiala suffered a second on-field episode in the space of four days.

Musiala collapsed without any contact during Bayern’s 4-2 win over Heidenheim on Tuesday, having experienced the same problem in Saturday’s 3-1 friendly victory against RB Leipzig. On that occasion, he had come on as a substitute only minutes earlier and had scored Bayern’s third goal before falling to the ground.

The 22-year-old has said doctors diagnosed him with temporary neurological disorders that can be treated, and that there is no serious health risk to him.

Speaking to Sky Sport Germany, Hoeneß said the recurrence had left him deeply shocked.

“What happened to Jamal for the second time in a few days really shocked me,” he said. “I was speechless, and that rarely happens to me. I go to bed thinking about Jamal and wake up in the morning thinking about him. We support Jamal without any conditions.”

Hoeneß said Bayern had known for some time that Musiala had experienced certain problems, although nothing similar had previously happened during a match for the club.

“It is a tragedy, especially for Jamal,” he said. “There were some signs that there were problems, but they had never happened to him at the club before. Now, with the two incidents on Saturday and yesterday, the issue is first and foremost about Jamal as a person, as well as about the club in the medium term.

“We are all speechless. We were not prepared for this. We will have to learn how to deal with the situation.”

The honorary president rejected criticism that Bayern should have allowed Musiala more time away from training and competitive football before returning to action.

He said specialist doctors, including neurologists treating the midfielder, had given written approval for him to continue playing sport at the highest level.

“The specialists, and the neurologists treating him, confirmed to us in writing that, in their view, there was nothing preventing Jamal from participating in high-level sport,” Hoeneß said. “Since then, we have been sleeping a little better at night.

“But now, honestly, we have to get used to this new situation. I am speechless.”

Bayern had believed the medication Musiala was taking would help prevent a recurrence if another episode did not happen soon after the first.

“We expected that if the same thing did not happen again quickly, the medication he is taking would help,” Hoeneß said. “But when it happened again after four days, in the same way, I was astonished.”

Hoeneß added that Bayern had not clearly understood the nature of Musiala’s problems before the World Cup. He said there had been some indications, but the player had continued training and appearing in matches.

“There were some signs, but he was training and playing matches,” Hoeneß said. “But I do not know whether these problems affected his level, or whether that was because of his ankle problems.”

Musiala’s decision to speak publicly about his condition followed an agreement with Bayern’s management.

Hoeneß said a meeting took place on Monday involving sporting director Max Eberl, Musiala, the player’s agent and two club doctors. They agreed that Musiala would discuss the issue publicly if the incident seen against RB Leipzig happened again.

“That is what happened yesterday,” Hoeneß said.