Bayern Munich say Kompany will be out for weeks after training-ground collapse

Bayern Munich head coach Vincent Kompany is in a Munich hospital in stable condition after collapsing at the club's training ground on Friday, Oct. 23. Sporting director Max Eberl said Saturday the absence will last weeks.

The cause has not been confirmed. Eberl said examinations are continuing.

What the club has said

Kompany collapsed while watching Bayern's second team train. The reserve side's match was postponed that day.

The club said Friday evening that Kompany "is currently undergoing a thorough examination in the hospital and will remain under medical care."

Eberl spoke Saturday ahead of the trip to Freiburg. "The good news is he's stable," he said. "I spoke with him last night, with his wife too."

He said Kompany will stay in hospital for a few more days. "The tests have already yielded some results, but further results are needed to determine exactly what it is and how long it will take for him to recover. I'm not a doctor."

On timing, Eberl was firm. "We're not starting to put together any timeframes. We won't be talking about days, but weeks. We need to all be clear on that."

A virus, and a push to carry on

Kompany had been fighting a virus. He missed Tuesday's pre-match news conference ahead of Bayern's Champions League game against Arsenal, then returned to the touchline for Wednesday's 2-2 home draw.

After that match he said he had not listened to his body. "I caught a pretty nasty virus last week, and of course I didn't listen to my body, and then at some point my body just said: 'Enough is enough!'"

Eberl acknowledged the club's own role in that decision. He questioned whether Bayern "should have put the brakes on him earlier."

He also pushed back on the idea that the club could simply overrule its coach. "If a coach says he feels ready to do something, then we're not going to say 'we won't allow that' if we don't know what's going on," Eberl said. "It's also everyone's own responsibility to say, 'I can't carry on now.'"

His conclusion: "Vinnie's a hard worker. If you don't listen to the subtle signals your body sends, eventually it will scream out in pain." Bayern will "try, even more than before, to protect him from himself."

No source has said the virus caused the collapse. Whether the two are linked is part of what the doctors are working to establish.

Danks takes the bench

Assistant coach Aaron Danks will lead the team at Freiburg on Sunday. He and fellow assistants, including René Marić, will continue to prepare as normal.

Danks said he spoke briefly with Kompany in hospital. "I explained to him that we wouldn't be having no football conversations. It was just checking in on his health and making sure he's OK."

He added: "All the football operations are in our hands and we'll work together as a team to keep the club moving forward."

Bayern did not seek to postpone the Freiburg match. Eberl said the club's view is that a good performance would help the coach's recovery. "I think the greatest joy for Vinnie would be for us to play well tomorrow and, ideally, get a positive result."

Midfielder Joshua Kimmich, the Germany captain, will also miss the game. Danks confirmed he has been on bereavement leave since Tuesday.

The table and the calendar

Bayern, the defending champions, started the weekend top of the Bundesliga on 14 points, level with Borussia Dortmund and one ahead of Freiburg and Leverkusen. Kompany has led the club to successive league titles since taking over in May 2024.

The fixture list that follows is heavy:

• Freiburg (away), Bundesliga, Oct. 25
• Magdeburg (home), DFB Cup, Oct. 28
• Borussia Dortmund (home), Bundesliga, Oct. 31
• Atlético Madrid (away), Champions League, Nov. 3
• Mainz (away), Bundesliga, Nov. 7

That is five matches in roughly two weeks, including a home game against a Dortmund side level on points. If Eberl's "weeks" holds, Danks and the staff will run all of them.

Kompany, 40, spent 11 years at Manchester City as a player, winning four Premier League titles. He later managed Burnley to the 2022-23 Championship title.

Bayern has not given a diagnosis or a return date. Eberl said the club will set a recovery timeline only after the doctors establish what is wrong.

The next concrete marker is Sunday's trip to Freiburg, the first match with Kompany absent.