Kompany stable in hospital after collapse, Bayern coach out for weeks

Collapse at the training ground

Vincent Kompany collapsed on Friday, 23 October, while watching a training session for Bayern Munich's Under-23 team at the club's training centre. Emergency services rushed to the site and a helicopter was also sent there, according to Adnkronos. He was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Munich, where he remains for medical tests. In a statement on Friday evening the club said he had been admitted for detailed examinations. On Saturday, sporting director Max Eberl said the 40-year-old Belgian is stable and that he had spoken with Kompany and his wife the previous evening. The Under-23 match scheduled for Saturday was postponed because the players were shaken after seeing Kompany collapse.

Weeks, not days

Eberl told reporters the club would not set a timetable for Kompany's return, and that doctors are still working out what is wrong. He said initial tests had produced some results, but more are needed to establish the condition and how long recovery will take. Kompany, he added, will be given all the time he needs. Eberl also declined to link the collapse to the viral infection that had kept Kompany away from the squad the week before.

We will not be talking about days, we will be talking about weeks. That has to be clear to all of us.

Team and absences

Aaron Danks, the 43-year-old English assistant coach, will take over Kompany's duties together with the wider coaching staff. Danks also stood in for Kompany last season, when a ban kept Kompany in the stands for a Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain. The first match under the new setup is the Bundesliga game at SC Freiburg on Sunday, 25 October, which kicks off at 17:30. The club did not consider asking for that match to be postponed, Eberl said. Joshua Kimmich will miss it after a bereavement in his immediate family, while the club said on X that Manuel Neuer is unavailable with tendon irritation in his foot. Luis Díaz and Minjae Kim are injured after the 2-2 draw with Arsenal, and Jamal Musiala is also out.

Virus, workload and possible causes

Kompany had been ill with a viral infection the week before and missed training and a press conference. He returned on Wednesday, 21 October, for the Champions League match against Arsenal, which ended 2-2. He later admitted that he had not paid enough attention to the signals his body was sending. Bild reports that the collapse may be linked to overwork and poor habits, including little sleep, an irregular diet, heavy coffee drinking and long hours. According to Bild, staff had been worried about his health for several weeks, and he helped with the expansion of the training ground. Those are Bild's reports, and no cause has been established.

If the quietest signals from a body are not heard, then your body eventually screams. That is what it has now done.

Bundesliga and Champions League

Bayern lead the Bundesliga with 14 points, level with Borussia Dortmund, while Freiburg are third with 13. Sunday's game is a top-of-the-table clash, with the two sides separated by one point. An absence of several weeks would also rule Kompany out of the Champions League trip to Atlético Madrid on 3 November.

Reactions from football and politics

Manchester City, where Kompany played, wrote that everyone at the club wishes their former captain a quick recovery. Kompany also coached Burnley for two years before joining Bayern, and the English club responded to the news. The Portuguese football federation wished him a speedy recovery on Instagram. Thibaut Courtois, the Real Madrid goalkeeper, wrote that he should get well soon. Federal research minister Dorothee Bär (CSU), who is an FC Bayern member, told WELT TV the news was a huge shock and described Kompany as an outstanding human personality. Eberl said in a club statement that Kompany will receive all the medical care and support he needs.