Two collapses in four days – what’s happening to Musiala?

August 19, 2026 No Comments

Two collapses in four days – what’s happening to Musiala? Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Jamal Musiala collapsed for the second time in four days during Bayern Munich’s pre-season friendly with Heidenheim on Wednesday ByMatthew HobbsBBC Sport journalistPublished23 minutes agoAfter coming on as a second-half substitute during Bayern Munich’s pre-season friendly with Heidenheim on Tuesday, Jamal Musiala lasted just eight minutes before collapsing for the second time in four days.

In scenes very similar to the incident against RB Leipzig on Saturday, the 23-year-old was comforted by team-mates including England captain Harry Kane.

Musiala has since revealed he is experiencing “easily treatable absence seizures”, stemming from a type of “neurological dysfunction”.

But what are absence seizures and are they likely to affect the Germany attacker’s career going forward?

‘No concerns’ over Musiala’s career

Bayern Munich midfielder Jamal Musiala is guided from the pitch after collapsing in Tuesday's friendly against Heidenheim — Image caption,

Musiala has scored 69 goals and provided 37 assists for Bayern Munich

Bayern have confirmed there were signs of Musiala’s condition before the World Cup, but they had yet to affect him playing football.

Speaking to Sky Sports, honorary president Uli Hoeness stated: “We have been aware of the problems for some time. But last weekend against Leipzig was the first time it happened on the pitch and was visible to everyone.

“We thought that if it didn’t happen again so quickly, the medication he is taking would help. But when it happened again four days later, in the same way, I was stunned.”

Many supporters questioned the decision to play Musiala so soon after he fainted on Saturday.

But Bayern officials have moved quickly to assure supporters the German international had been cleared to play on Tuesday by medical experts .

“We’ve already taken precautions,” added Hoeness. “The doctors treating him, the neurologists and specialists, have provided us with written confirmation – because this was absolutely essential for us – that, in their view, there are no concerns regarding Jamal taking part in high-performance sport.

“Without that, we would have been acting negligently. Since we’ve had this written confirmation, we’ve been sleeping a little more soundly.

“But I must say, I’m rarely at a loss for words or without a clear solution. We’ll have to feel our way through this new situation first.”

What are absence seizures?

Jamal Musiala looks on ahead of the pre-season friendly against Leipzig in August 2026 — Image caption,

Musiala was born in Stuttgart but grew up in Southampton

Following his collapse on Tuesday, Musiala posted a statement on Instagram, where he stated the seizures have become part of his everyday life.

Absence seizures are a type of generalised seizure that commonly affect children and young adults.

There are two types of absence seizures: typical and atypical.

Dr Meneka Sidhu, a consultant neurologist at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London, stated typical absence seizures usually last seconds and the person affected may appear to be daydreaming or looking blank.

In an absence seizure, a person has varying degrees of loss of awareness and can result in the person affected losing balance and being unresponsive during the seizure itself.

“It can be very short-lasting, and the person can continue like nothing happened,” she stated. “With atypical absences that last longer, people may have automatic movements like fidgeting with their hands, eyelid fluttering and lip smacking. Some people may fall.

Repeated episodes of an absence seizure over more than 24 hours can be an indication of epilepsy, although the seizures can be treated with medication.

“For anybody affected by epilepsy, it is important to try to identify triggers to avoid these,” added Dr Sidhu. “For people who play sport, triggers may include hyperventilation and dehydration.

“When effectively treated, there is no reason absence seizures should stop anyone playing sport.”

Musiala’s condition is one that has been managed by other elite athletes.

Rugby player Tommy Freeman started having absence seizures as a 14-year-old and, after later being diagnosed with epilepsy, he now manages the condition by taking tablets alongside playing for Northampton and England.

Musiala’s difficult period

Jamal Musiala runs with the ball for Germany against Iceland in 2021 — Image caption,

Musiala became the youngest Germany debutant for 67 years aged 18 in 2021

Musiala’s recent diagnosis is the newest setback in what has been a desperately unlucky period to his highly successful career.

His 2024-25 campaign was ended by injury in early April and, just over a week later, he was involved in a serious traffic accident.

Musiala was still able to return to action two months later to take part in the Fifa Club World Cup but then suffered a broken leg and dislocated ankle – in the quarter-final against Paris St-Germain – which ruled him out for 196 days.

The former England Under-21 international then played with a metal plate in his foot from January until the end of this summer’s World Cup in North America, where he made four appearances for Germany.

The plate was removed in July, limiting his ability to train during pre-season.

“Musiala hasn’t been much of a factor in the past 18 months,” stated German football expert Constantin Eckner. “He came back for the Club World Cup but suffered a broken leg when he collided with Gianluigi Donnarumma.

“It took him months to recover from that. He just had a metal plate removed from his left foot so he played with that for half a year and had to deal with ankle issues.

“Naturally, his performances left much to be desired. The start to the upcoming season would have been difficult anyway, because he didn’t take part in team training for some time due to the surgery in which the plate was removed. Now, there’s another stumbling block.”

Eckner added Bayern’s £43m summer signing of Morocco attacking midfielder Ismael Saibari was in part to protect against Musiala’s fitness issues.

“Musiala is Bayern’s top earner alongside Harry Kane, but his contribution hasn’t been anywhere close to Kane’s,” he stated. “He is still young and things can change again.

“He has a release clause in his contract that could be triggered next summer, but the fee would be in the nine digits. It is unrealistic that any club would be willing to pay that for him at the moment.”