Kompany Needs Weeks To Recover – Eberl

Bayern Munich head coach Vincent Kompany will need weeks to recover after collapsing at the club’s training ground on Friday, the Bundesliga club’s director of sport Max Eberl said, adding that the 40-year-old needs “protecting from himself.”

Kompany, the former Manchester City and Belgium defender, remains in a “stable” condition in hospital and “examinations were continuing,” Eberl said.

Eberl said Bayern had considered asking for Sunday’s Bundesliga game at Freiburg to be postponed, but believed the best tonic for Kompany would be to “play and be successful.”

“Vinnie will be given all the time he needs. We’re not starting to put together any timeframes,” Eberl said. “We need to firstly figure out what it is and then we’ll discuss calmly what the recovery time is to be. We won’t be talking about days, but weeks. We need to all be clear on that.”

Kompany was taken to hospital after collapsing as he watched the club’s second team train. He had been unwell with a virus and missed the pre-match news conference on Tuesday for Bayern’s Champions League game against Arsenal. Kompany was on the touchline for Wednesday’s match, and Eberl questioned whether he “should have put the brakes on him earlier.”

“The fact is, we protect our coach wherever we can,” Eberl said. “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. It’s also everyone’s own responsibility to say, ‘I can’t carry on now.’

“Vinnie’s a hard worker. If you don’t listen to the subtle signals your body sends, eventually it will scream out in pain. Vinnie will be given that time now, and we’ll continue to try, even more than before, to protect him from himself.”

Kompany spent 11 years at Manchester City as a player, winning four Premier League titles, two FA Cups and four League Cups, before going into management with Burnley. After guiding Burnley to the 2022-23 Championship title, he was unable to keep the Clarets in the Premier League. He left to take over at Bayern in May 2024 and has led them to successive Bundesliga titles.

Kompany’s assistant Aaron Danks has spoken with the Bayern boss in hospital. “I explained to him that we would be having no football conversations,” Danks said. “It was just checking in on his health and making sure he’s OK. All the football operations are in our hands and we’ll work together as a team to keep the club moving forward.”