Kompany recovers at home from a brain lining condition, Bayern return not expected until after the international break

Vincent Kompany is back home. The 40-year-old Bayern Munich coach collapsed on Friday 23 October and was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Munich, La DH recalls. On Wednesday evening, sporting director Max Eberl said Kompany had left hospital and described a Hirnhautreizung, an irritation of the brain lining, Sporza writes. The German paper Bild had earlier reported that Kompany suffered convulsions after collapsing, and in the preceding weeks he had reportedly been fighting a viral infection, something Bayern all but confirmed.

Sporza put the diagnosis to neurologist Chris van der Linden, who works in Ghent and does not know the case file. He reads the German term as an inflammatory reaction of the brain lining rather than full meningitis, possibly aseptic meningitis, a milder form in which no bacterium or virus is found. The fact that Kompany could go home after about five days is a positive sign, he says. He does advise the coach to live more healthily, with more sleep and less stress, as lack of sleep weakens the immune system.

Kompany will not be on the bench for now. According to Bild, cited by La DH, he will not return before the international break of 9 to 17 November. That means he will miss the top game against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, the Champions League match at Atlético Madrid on 3 November and the trip to Mainz on 7 November. Whether he will be back on 20 November remains uncertain. Assistant Aaron Danks has taken over and said he is not involving Kompany in decisions for now, because his health comes first.

On the pitch, Bayern carry on regardless: on Wednesday they beat second-tier Magdeburg 6-1 to reach the last sixteen of the German Cup. The players are urging their coach to be patient. Ballon d'Or winner Harry Kane told Bild, according to La DH, that Kompany wants to be back as soon as possible but that rest is what matters most now.