The much-anticipated return of Jamal Musiala to the Bayern Munich squad after a long injury layover is edging even closer to happening. He’s been out of the squad ever since the FIFA Club World Cup loss to Paris Saint-Germain in Atlanta, Georgia this past summer, but Vincent Kompany’s side have shown no signs of being too affected by Musiala’s absence. Harry Kane, Luis Diaz, Michael Olise, Serge Gnabry, and youngster Lennart Karl have been spearheading what’s been an electric attacking line for the German
Rekordmeister that have only lost once across all competitions so far this season.
In Bayern’s 3-1 Champions League over Sporting Lisbon, they finally welcomed back Alphonso Davies, who had also been out for quite some time after injuring his knee on duty with Canada at the CONCACAF Nations League back in March. Hiroki Ito has also made his way back into the squad after a considerable injury spell, meaning Musiala will be the last of the three long-term injuries to return to action.
Per information from Bild (via @iMiaSanMia), Musiala is expected to make his return to the squad as early as next week, which has been confirmed by Kompany when he was speaking in the press conference ahead of the Bundesliga clash against Mainz. “Jamal is close. Hopefully next week. But I want to make it very clear: zero pressure on Jamal and the medical department. But hopefully he can manage a few training sessions before Christmas. That would be wonderful – for the team and for him. And then his first playing minutes should follow in January. That would be the ideal plan for us,” the Belgian manager explained.
Considering the gap that Bayern has at the top of the Bundesliga table, the final match of the hinrunde vs. Heidenheim could be Musiala’s first bit of action since returning from injury. If anything, he would more than likely come off the bench for that match, whether Bayern is in a comfortable lead, or in need of goals and/or a creative spark in attack. A balance of getting him reintegrated but not pushing too hard too soon will be the name of the game for Kompany and his coaching staff.
