Uli Hoeness ‘speechless’ as Jamal Musiala suffers second collapse in four days

Bayern Munich honorary president Uli Hoeness has admitted he was left “speechless” after Jamal Musiala suffered another on-field collapse, just four days after the Germany international experienced a similar episode.

Musiala fell to the turf shortly after coming on during Bayern’s pre-season friendly at Heidenheim on Tuesday, raising fresh concerns about his health after he had collapsed during Saturday’s match against RB Leipzig.

The 23-year-old has since revealed that he is dealing with a “neurological disorder” that can cause “temporary but treatable seizures”.

Hoeness shaken by second incident

Hoeness, a hugely influential figure at Bayern despite stepping down as club president in 2019, said the latest incident had deeply affected him.

“The fact it happened again four days later really shocked me. I was speechless, which rarely happens to me,” he told Germany’s RTL and Sky channels.

“I go to bed thinking of him and wake up in the morning thinking of him. We support Jamal unconditionally.”

The former Bayern forward described the situation as a tragedy and acknowledged that both Musiala and the club would have to adapt to the circumstances.

“It’s a problem first and foremost for the person Jamal, and also for the club in the medium term. We’re all speechless, we weren’t prepared for this.”

Kane backs Bayern star

Bayern striker Harry Kane, who was among those who rushed to Musiala’s aid following his collapse on Tuesday, said the squad was fully behind their teammate.

“Of course, when you see a situation like yesterday and the game on Saturday, it’s not nice because he’s our friend, he’s our teammate. We feel frustrated for him,” Kane said.

“We know he just wants to be on the pitch and be back to normal as quickly as possible. From our point of view, it’s just about being with him, talking to him. The club are fully behind him.”

Bayern given medical reassurance

Hoeness said Bayern had been aware of Musiala’s condition and had received written confirmation from specialists that there were no medical objections to him continuing high-performance sport.

“We’ve been sleeping a little more soundly since receiving that confirmation,” he said.

However, Maria Ilyas-Feldmann, deputy chief physician at Germany’s Ruppin-Brandenburg University Hospital, cautioned that more information was needed before determining the cause of Musiala’s episodes or their implications for his career.

“Based on the publicly available information, it is impossible to determine the specific cause in Mr Musiala’s case,” she said.