Bayern Munich believe Vincent Kompany will be away from his coaching duties for a significant period as he remains in hospital receiving treatment for a viral illness following his collapse during Friday’s training session. At Saturday’s press conference, sporting director Max Eberl said Kompany was in a stable condition.
The 40-year-old will be replaced by his English assistant, Aaron Danks, for Sunday’s Bundesliga fixture against Freiburg. Eberl explained that medical tests were ongoing to identify the exact cause of the former Manchester City and Belgium captain’s condition, meaning no definite return date had been established.
“Vinnie will have as much time as he requires. We are not setting a schedule at this stage. The priority is to understand exactly what has happened before calmly assessing how long his recovery may take. We are likely discussing a period of weeks rather than days, and everyone must recognise that.”
Danks handled Saturday’s media duties and revealed that he had briefly spoken to Kompany on Friday solely to check on his wellbeing. “I made it clear that we would not discuss football. The conversation was simply about his health and ensuring that he was doing all right.”
Danks continued: “The coaching staff will take responsibility for football matters, and we will work collectively to ensure the club keeps progressing.”
Friday’s match involving Bayern’s reserve side was postponed after Kompany collapsed, but Eberl said the club never considered requesting that Sunday’s league fixture also be delayed. “I believe nothing would please Vinnie more than seeing us perform strongly tomorrow and, hopefully, earn a good result,” Eberl said. “That may be one of the most helpful things we can do while he recovers.”
Danks also confirmed that Germany captain Joshua Kimmich, who has been on compassionate leave since Tuesday, would be unavailable for Sunday’s match.
Kompany returned to the touchline for Wednesday’s 2-2 home draw against Arsenal in the Champions League, despite missing the pre-match media briefing because of the illness. After the match, he admitted that his condition worsened when he attempted to continue working through it. “I picked up a particularly unpleasant virus last week and failed to pay attention to what my body was telling me. Eventually, it made clear that I had pushed too far.”
The reigning champions began the weekend at the top of the Bundesliga standings, tied with Borussia Dortmund on 14 points and holding a one-point advantage over Freiburg and Leverkusen. Their next Champions League fixture is scheduled for 3 November, when they travel to Spain to face Atlético Madrid.
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