Bayern Munich head coach Vincent Kompany will need weeks to recover after collapsing at the club’s training ground, with sporting director Max Eberl saying the coach needs “protecting from himself”.
The 40-year-old former Manchester City and Belgium defender remains in a “stable” condition in hospital, while “examinations were continuing”.
Eberl said Bayern had considered requesting the postponement of Sunday’s Bundesliga match against Freiburg but believed playing and securing a victory would be the best tonic for Kompany.
“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 while watching Bayern’s second team train on Friday.
He had been unwell with a virus and missed Tuesday’s pre-match news conference ahead of Bayern’s Champions League fixture against Arsenal.
However, he returned to the touchline for Wednesday’s match, prompting Eberl to question whether the club should have intervened earlier.
Eberl said he had reflected on whether Kompany should have been stopped from returning to work before his condition worsened.
“The fact is, we protect our coach wherever we can,” he 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’.”
Describing Kompany as a hard worker, Eberl said the coach needed to pay closer attention to the warning signs from his body.
“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 beginning his managerial career at Burnley.
He guided Burnley to the Championship title in the 2022-23 season but was unable to keep the club in the Premier League.
Kompany left Burnley to take charge of Bayern Munich in May 2024 and has since led the German giants to successive Bundesliga titles.
His assistant, Aaron Danks, said he had spoken to Kompany in hospital but avoided discussing football.
“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.”
Faridah Abdulkadiri