OSNABRÜCK, Germany — Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany said Wednesday that Jamal Musiala could be available to play soon, but added he wouldn’t pressure the Germany star to return to the field until he was ready.
Musiala was not included in Bayern’s squad for a 4-1 German Cup win over second-tier Osnabrück and has not played a role for Kompany since collapsing in two preseason games because of a neurological issue.
Harry Kane scored twice as defending champions Bayern eased into the second round of the German Cup on Wednesday, and Kompany said after the game Musiala “might” be an option for his team’s Bundesliga game against promoted Schalke on Saturday.
“But I don’t want to put any more pressure on the guy,” Kompany said after beating Osnabrück.
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Musiala shared that he is experiencing treatable absence seizures after he collapsed on the pitch for the second time in four days during a friendly on Aug. 18. That came just three days after the same thing happened during a preseason game against RB Leipzig.
Kompany did not make wholesale changes against the lower-division rival on Wednesday and started with star forwards Kane, Luis Díaz and Michael Olise, while new signing Ismael Saibari made his first start since joining from PSV Eindhoven.
“We kept finding the spaces and the chances eventually became bigger as well. We were battling their compactness in the first half; in the second they tried to press us, which also gave us opportunities,” Kompany said. “At the end of the day, it’s a 4-1 win away in the cup. You can’t get much better than that against a compact, defensively strong team, who have built their success on just that. To a win a match like this 4-1 away from home is not easy.
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Robin Meissner scored a brilliant early opener for Osnabrück when he let fly from around 30 meters inside the top right corner. Kane and even Bayern goalkeeper Jonas Urbig congratulated the player for the strike.
“I think it was a good performance. Games likes this are never easy,” Kane said after the match. “We played away from home against a good side and the atmosphere the fans created was really impressive. In games like this you have to be disciplined and mentally switched on — especially when the opponents start with such an outrageous goal.”
Kane equalized shortly afterward and Tom Bischof made it 2-1 in the 24th minute. Bayern needed to wait till the 73rd for Olise to seal the result before Kane completed the scoring from the penalty spot.
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Bayern started the season with a 2-1 win over Dortmund in the Super Cup and a 5-1 win over Stuttgart to start Bundesliga play.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
