Bayern Munich expect coach Vincent Kompany to be sidelined for several weeks as he remains in hospital receiving treatment for a virus after collapsing at the club’s training ground on Friday.
Bayern sporting director Max Eberl confirmed Saturday that the 40-year-old was in stable condition but said medical examinations were continuing to establish the nature of his illness. The club has not set a recovery date.
"Vinnie will be given all the time he needs. We’re not starting to put together any timeframes,” Eberl said at a news conference.
"We need to firstly figure out what it is and then we’ll discuss calmly what recovery time is to be. We won’t be talking about days, but weeks. We need to all be clear on that.”
Kompany’s English assistant, Aaron Danks, will take charge of the defending Bundesliga champions for Sunday’s away match against Freiburg as the club prioritizes the Belgian’s recovery.
Danks, who addressed reporters in Kompany’s absence, said he had spoken briefly with the former Manchester City and Belgium captain on Friday but avoided discussing football.
"I explained to him that we wouldn’t be having any football conversations. It was just checking in on his health and making sure he’s OK,” Danks said.
"All the football operations are in our hands and we’ll work together as a team to keep the club moving forward.”
Bayern postponed a match involving their second team following Kompany’s collapse, but Eberl said the club had not considered requesting a postponement of the first team’s Bundesliga fixture.
He suggested that a strong performance and a positive result against Freiburg would be the best way for the players to support their coach.
"I think the greatest joy for Vinnie would be for us to play well tomorrow and, ideally, get a positive result,” Eberl said. "That would probably be one of the best things we could do to help him recover.”
Danks also confirmed that Germany captain Joshua Kimmich would miss Sunday’s match. The midfielder has been on bereavement leave since Tuesday.
Kompany returned to the dugout for Bayern’s home match against Arsenal on Wednesday despite missing the pre-match news conference because of the same virus.
After the match, he acknowledged that he had pushed himself too hard while ill.
"I caught a pretty nasty virus last week, and of course I didn’t listen to my body and then at some point my body just said, ‘Enough is enough!’” he said.
The illness has now forced him to step away from the team, with Bayern awaiting further medical assessments before determining when he might return.
Bayern lead the Bundesliga standings ahead of Sunday’s match, sitting one point above Freiburg. Their next Champions League fixture is scheduled for Nov. 3 against Atletico Madrid in Spain.