According to a report from Abendzeitung journalist Mano Bonke (as captured by @iMiaSanMia), Jamal Musiala will stay home from the preseason tour in Asia and will resume team training when the group returns:
Jamal Musiala will not be on the plane to Asia with the team on August 1st. Instead, he will stay in Munich and train individually at Säbener Straße. As soon as the team returns from the tour, Musiala is expected to resume team training. If everything goes according to plan, the player will be ready
to feature in the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup against Dortmund (August 22). There’s a big hope that, after having a metal plate removed from his left foot, Musiala will finally be able to play with more freedom again.
Bayern Munich board member for sport Max Eberl addressed Musiala’s status at a press conference on Wednesday as well.
“Hopefully the final step is out of the way for Jamal with the removal of the metal plate. He’s lost a bit of his ease, although his statistics weren’t bad. Those magic moments are still missing a bit but we’re very confident they’ll come back. We’ll take care of him and build him back up. We need to get him back to his best,” Eberl noted (as captured by @iMiaSanMia).
BFW Analysis
This is a very smart move and one that could greatly benefit Musiala. The news can be taken two ways:
1 — Positive: This is a chance for Musiala to get a little extra rest and recovery time ahead what will be a grueling season.
2 — Negative: Musiala still is not ready and this current form just might be what he is now.
Certainly, Bayern Munich will do what is necessary to give Musiala the best chance to succeed — something you could argue did not happen last season. While it is unclear who was the primary driver in pushing for the return of the team’s highest paid player last season, his comeback was clearly too soon as he never got on track and looked physically limited. It is months later and there are now major doubts about Musiala, not just for the present, but for the future.
The Germany international does need more time, but it is completely fair to ask if he would not have been better off by taking a slower pathway back to action after such a devastating injury. The kicker in the situation is that he was not needed for Bayern Munich last season — at least not when he initially returned. A slower timetable really could have benefitted the player.
After a rough showing at the World Cup, Musiala is dealing with major criticism for the first time in his young career. Ultimately, the hope is that he can rise through this adversity and get back to showing the ability and promise which made so many people rate him as one of the best young players on the planet.
In truth, judging Musiala fully is something that should not be done until January or February. That might not be what fans want to hear, but a major injury always carries the “season after the season” rule — meaning that a player will not be fully back until the season after he first returns.
That should give Bayern Munich fans some hope, but it does require patience.
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