Jamal Musiala is back in the mix for FC Bayern at exactly the right time. The 23-year-old appeared on the pitch for the first time in Bayern’s 3-2 win over SC Freiburg, got around 25 minutes of match practice, and then traveled with the squad to Madrid for the Champions League quarter-final first leg against Real Madrid at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu.
That is a major step for a player whose comeback has been slowed by a fractured fibula and several torn ankle ligaments suffered at the Club World Cup in summer 2025. Musiala made his first comeback in January, but another problem after the Bergamo game left adhesions in the ankle and forced Bayern to manage his return with care.
Max Eberl said Musiala’s situation is not the sort of injury that can be brushed aside. “It’s not an injury that can be rehabilitated in passing,” he said, adding that “there is a lot of physicality involved, but the soul and psyche are also involved.” Christoph Freund was just as direct, saying it is not easy for Musiala because he keeps having minor setbacks.
Bayern’s caution has a clear logic. The club has described his reintegration as something that would take time, and Eberl said the ankle is not simply healed and forgotten. “It’s not all flawless and virgin, but also surgical and damaged,” he said. “Accordingly, it was clear to us that this reintegration would also take some time.”
Even so, Bayern saw enough in Freiburg to believe the 23-year-old is moving in the right direction. Eberl said Musiala “threw himself into the team” and “made a very good impression,” and that the key issue is whether he feels ready. “He gave us that impression on Saturday, so we’re delighted that he’s back at the Bernabéu,” Eberl said.
For Bayern, the timing matters because a fit Musiala is viewed as very important in the hot phase of the season. For Musiala, the next test is less about the calendar than about whether his body and mind can finally keep pace with the football around him.
