KOMPANY RETURNS TO BAYERN TRAINING GROUND AFTER COLLAPSE

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By ‘Balogun Ibrahim

Bayern Munich manager Vincent Kompany returned to the club’s training ground on Tuesday for the first time since collapsing last month, marking the beginning of a gradual resumption of his duties ahead of the Bundesliga clash against Cologne on November 20.

The 40-year-old arrived at Bayern’s Säbener Straße training complex shortly after 10am, according to reports from German media.

During his visit, Kompany worked from his office, held discussions with assistant coach Floribert Ngalula and sporting director Christoph Freund, and observed injured players undergoing a recovery session.

However, his return to the training facility does not mean he has fully resumed his managerial responsibilities, as he is expected to return to the dugout after the international break.

Kompany collapsed on October 23 while watching a training session involving Bayern’s reserve team. He was subsequently hospitalised and diagnosed with meningeal irritation, an inflammation affecting the membranes surrounding the brain or spinal cord, before being discharged to continue his recovery at home.

In his absence, assistant coach Aaron Danks took charge of the team, guiding Bayern to four victories and a 2-2 draw against Borussia Dortmund.

The German giants recorded wins over Freiburg, Magdeburg, Atletico Madrid and Mainz during the period.

Danks had earlier disclosed that the club instructed him to avoid discussing football matters with Kompany while he focused on recovering.

“I have clear instructions from Max [Eberl] and Christoph [Freund] not to engage in discussions, first of all, and to keep Vince focused on nothing other than his health and spending time with his family,” he said.

He added that the club wanted the Belgian to recover fully before returning to his managerial responsibilities.

“We want him to rest and recover properly so that, when he returns, he is fully fit and can help us in the best possible way. We are being very strict here and keeping football completely out of it,” Danks stated.

Kompany’s father, Pierre, had previously spoken about his son’s demanding work schedule in an interview with Bild, revealing that the Bayern manager often works for up to 18 hours daily.

“He works 18 hours a day most days and, on a typical day, barely sees his children,” he said, noting that his son usually arrives at the training ground early and leaves late.

Bayern are scheduled to host Cologne on November 20, with Kompany expected to return to the touchline for the encounter.