MUNICH, Germany April 21 : Bayern Munich playmaker Jamal Musiala missed much of the season due to a broken leg and while he has already made an impact since returning to the pitch in January, coach Vincent Kompany is confident he will soon take his game to a whole new level.
The 23-year-old Germany international sustained a fibula fracture with a broken and dislocated ankle following a collision with then-Paris St Germain goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma at the Club World Cup last July.
After making his return at the start of the year, he has gradually earned more playing time as he bids to make Germany’s squad for the World Cup, which starts in June.
Fellow Bayern midfielder Serge Gnabry carried much of the load during Musiala’s absence but will be out of action for several weeks with an adductor muscle injury.
With Bayern set for a German Cup semi-final against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, Kompany needs Musiala to step up.
“Jamal is in a good phase at the moment,” he told a press conference on Tuesday.
“I said it early on, back in January, that he’s developed physically. He’s now also physically close to his best level, not just in terms of strength but also in terms of his willingness to run.
“Now the question is when will ‘Magic Musiala’ return? It will come 100 per cent. The moments are there. But even now, what the lad is doing at the moment is very dangerous in front of goal.”
In 600 minutes of play, Musiala had accrued nine ‘scorer points’ – the combined number of assists and goals scored – in all competitions, said Kompany.
Treble-chasing Bayern, who have not reached the German Cup final since 2020, secured the Bundesliga title on Sunday with a 4-2 victory over VfB Stuttgart with four matches left to play.
They also face PSG next week in France in their Champions League semi-final first leg.
“When he has this total freedom again, and it will come back, then you will have an even more developed version of Musiala and that, as a coach, makes me happy,” Kompany added.
“But with nine scorer points in 600 minutes he has shown he is ready.”
