Jamal Musiala's Absence Seizures: A Footballer's Challenge
Jamal Musiala had barely stepped onto the pitch when the Allianz Arena fell silent again.
Eight minutes after coming on as a second-half substitute in Bayern Munich’s pre-season friendly against Heidenheim on Tuesday, the 23-year-old collapsed – the second such incident in four days, a chilling repeat of what had happened against RB Leipzig on Saturday.
Team-mates rushed to him. Harry Kane, again, was among the first to comfort him. The scenes were eerily familiar, the concern on faces just as raw.
This time, though, there was an explanation.
Musiala has since revealed he is suffering from what he called “easily treatable absence seizures”, linked to a type of “neurological dysfunction”. A frightening phrase for any elite athlete, and a jarring one for a player whose game is built on sharpness, clarity and instant reactions.
Kane, speaking to BBC Sport on Wednesday, did not hide the reality of the situation.
“Jamal is obviously going through a bit of a difficult moment right now,” said the England captain. “I know he posted on social media about the small condition he has and from our point of view it is just about supporting Jamal.
“He is going through something that not everyone goes through, but there are also people who have dealt with it before and he is doing everything possible to be his best version.”
Bayern knew before the world did
Inside Bayern, this did not come as a complete shock.
Honorary president Uli Hoeness revealed the club had been aware of Musiala’s condition before the World Cup, though until last weekend it had never interfered with his football.
“We have been aware of the problems for some time,” Hoeness told Sky Sports. “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.”
The rapid recurrence raised an obvious question among supporters: why was he playing again so soon?
Bayern moved quickly to defend that decision. Hoeness stressed the club had leaned heavily on medical expertise before allowing Musiala to feature against Heidenheim.
“We've already taken precautions,” he said. “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?
Musiala’s case has dragged a medical term into the heart of a football conversation.
Absence seizures are a type of generalised seizure most commonly seen in children and young adults. They come in two forms: typical and atypical.
Dr Meneka Sidhu, a consultant neurologist at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London, explains that typical absence seizures usually last only seconds. To an onlooker, the person may simply seem to be daydreaming or staring blankly.
In an absence seizure, there is a varying degree of loss of awareness. The person may become unresponsive, lose balance or simply “switch off” briefly.
“It can be very short-lasting, and the person can continue like nothing happened,” said Dr Sidhu. “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 absence seizures over more than 24 hours can indicate epilepsy, but they are often controllable with medication.
“For anybody affected by epilepsy, it is important to try to identify triggers,” Dr Sidhu added. “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 himself posted on Instagram after Tuesday’s collapse, explaining that these episodes have become part of his everyday life. The message was calm, matter-of-fact – a young star trying to normalise something that looks anything but normal when it happens in front of tens of thousands.
Not the first elite athlete to manage it
Musiala is not alone in this territory.
Rugby player Tommy Freeman began experiencing absence seizures at 14. He was later diagnosed with epilepsy and now manages the condition with medication while playing for Northampton and England at the highest level.
For Bayern, that context matters. It frames Musiala’s condition not as a career-ending diagnosis, but as another complex issue to manage in a career already disrupted by misfortune.
A brutal 18 months
On paper, Musiala is entering his prime years. In reality, the last year and a half have been a grind of setbacks.
His 2024-25 campaign ended in early April because of injury. Just over a week later, he was involved in a serious traffic accident. He still made it back two months later to feature at the Fifa Club World Cup, only to suffer a broken leg and dislocated ankle in the quarter-final against Paris St-Germain after a collision with Gianluigi Donnarumma. That kept him out for 196 days.
When he finally returned, he did so with a metal plate in his left foot, playing through discomfort from January until the end of the World Cup in North America, where he made four appearances for Germany. The plate was removed in July, which limited his pre-season training and left him playing catch-up once again.
“Musiala hasn't been much of a factor in the past 18 months,” said 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.”
Bayern’s big investment, and a new safeguard
Bayern’s summer business reflects that reality.
The club spent £43m to bring in Morocco attacking midfielder Ismael Saibari, a move Eckner believes was partly designed as cover for Musiala’s ongoing fitness and availability concerns.
“Musiala is Bayern's top earner alongside Harry Kane, but his contribution hasn't been anywhere close to Kane's,” Eckner said. “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.”
For now, Bayern’s priority is not the market, but the man.
Kane underlined that sense of unity in the dressing room.
“He is a great player, extremely talented,” he said. “He is a big part of our team. We feel really sorry for him and frustrated for him when things happen like they do in the last couple of games.
“He has the full support from everyone here at Bayern and his friends and family, and we will be there to help him deal with it.
“He came off the back of a tough injury last season, I know how much he works behind the scenes and on the training pitch. From our point of view it is just to be there to support him and not just from my point of view, but the whole team as well.”
The medical experts say absence seizures, when properly treated, should not stop Musiala playing elite football. Bayern have their written assurances. The squad have made their stance clear.
The question now is not whether he can still play, but how quickly one of Europe’s brightest talents can fight through yet another obstacle and reclaim the stage that once seemed destined to be his.
