It was so devastating when Gianluigi Donnarumma fell on Jamal Musiala’s ankle and bent it horribly out of shape, ruling him out for the first half of Bayern Munich’s season. But as devastating as that was, it was just as delightful to see Jamal Musiala return from his injury in January against Rasenballsport Leipzig, even notching an assist. He even started his first match since returning from injury in January against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League and scored his first goal since returning.
The match against Leipzig is over two months ago at the time of writing. Since then, Musiala started just two more game and experienced what Bayern called a pain reaction in the leg of the tie against Atalanta Bergamo in the Champions League. This now puts him at risk of missing Germany’s final international break before the World Cup, but also Bayern’s matches in the crucial March to April stretch of the season.
The wait to see Bayern’s #10 fully fit and playing at his best for both club and country is agonizing for all involved. That includes Bayern head coach Vincent Kompany and Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann, who will have to come to an understanding on how Germany manage Musiala during the international break.
Kompany was asked about this ahead of the return leg against Atalanta and this is what he had to say:
“I’ll have a phone call with Julian Nagelsmann sometime – I deliberately haven’t done it yet so I can say here it hasn’t happened,” the Belgian coach revealed, as captured by @iMiaSanMia. “We have the same interests: We both want a fully fit Jamal Musiala. If he performs at his best for Bayern, he’ll do the same for Germany. He’ll return to his top form, it’s just a matter of time. But we have exactly the same priorities.”
Both men have the same interests but not within the same time frame. Kompany will certainly care more about Musiala’s immediate availability, but Nagelsmann will see no need to take a chance. But the top priority is and remains to get the superstar fit and firing on all cylinders again after such a difficult year for the 23-year-old.
