Bayern Munich: Kompany in “stable condition” after his illness but expected to be absent “several weeks”

Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany is in a “stable condition”, the day after feeling unwell and hospitalized in a Munich clinic, and will probably be absent for several “weeks”, explained sports director Max Eberl on Saturday at a press conference.

“First the good news, he is stable. He collapsed yesterday on the field and he is now in the hospital, where he will stay for a few more days, until we have really cleared everything up, examined everything, checked everything, controlled everything,” Eberl said.

“We need to first find out what happened, then how, and then we'll quietly think about what that means for recovery time. This is why, for the moment, we are not going to set absolutely any deadline. And we're not going to talk about days, we're going to talk about weeks. This must be clear to all of us,” he said.

“It shows once again that football is not the most important thing in life. Maybe the second, maybe the third most important. The most important thing is health,” added the Bayern sporting director.

Last week, Kompany was affected by a virus which took him away from his group for a few days, before returning to his place on the bench against Arsenal in the Champions League (2-2), Wednesday evening. He admitted not having listened to his body enough.

On Friday afternoon, after the first team's training session to prepare for the trip to Freiburg, Kompany stayed to follow the reserve team's session, coached by former Brazilian international Dante.

Kompany then collapsed and was transported by ambulance to a Munich clinic, where he was admitted for “thorough examinations”, the Munich club announced in a press release on Friday evening.

Bayern travels to Friborg on Sunday for the clash at the top of the Bundesliga, between leader Munich and third, separated by one point (14 against 13).

An absence of a few weeks means that his squad will have to do without him for several days of the championship and the Champions League clash at Atlético Madrid on November 3.