After Nagelsmann’s announcement: Jamal Musiala fights for his World Cup place | OneFootball

Jamal Musiala is facing a race against time. As the German national team starts the World Cup year, the national coach is increasingly concerned that the Bayern star will not be in top form in time

Although hopes remain high for the attacking duo with Florian Wirtz, Julian Nagelsmann is adopting a more cautious tone in public for the first time. „He doesn’t have that much time left,“ explained the national coach to RTL ahead of the test match against Switzerland. At the same time, he emphasized: „I believe he can get to 100 per cent. But he now has eight weeks until he has to be at 100 per cent.“

The message is clear: even a player like Musiala is not automatically in the current DFB squad. Nagelsmann made it clear that performance and fitness are crucial: „We have a lot of good attacking players, and Jamal, like everyone else, has to be at 100 per cent in the games.“

The competition is particularly fierce in attack – and that increases the pressure on the Bayern star. Musiala was actually planned as a fixture in the starting eleven, but he needs to return to his top level as quickly as possible

Difficult road back after serious injury

The starting position is complicated. After his serious injury at the Club World Cup with a broken fibula and torn ligaments, Musiala has been fighting his way back for months. Although he celebrated his comeback in January, he still lacks rhythm

He is currently out of action due to a pain reaction in his operated left ankle. According to Bayern, this is a typical after-effect of the injury and not a new structural problem. Nevertheless, the situation shows how sensitive the healing process is

photo: IMAGO

In order to get fit in time, Musiala is following an enormous program. According to BILD, the 23-year-old sometimes works up to eight hours a day on his comeback. Step by step, he is feeling his way back to the load

He has recently been able to significantly increase his training, with initial running sessions being followed by coordination exercises and, finally, sessions with the ball again. On Friday, he completed around 35 minutes on the pitch, including dribbling and initial finishes – always under the close watch of rehab coach Simon Martinello, who monitored his progress via iPad

Another positive sign: assistant coach Floribert N’Galula also took part in the exercises – an indication that his return to team training is getting closer

Real duels as an interim goal

Internally, the next big goal is clearly defined: Musiala should be available in time for the Champions League games against Real Madrid on 7 and 15 April. However, FC Bayern do not currently expect him to be back at 100 percent by then

The remaining Bundesliga games could provide him with additional match practice – a decisive factor with regard to the World Cup

The countdown to the World Cup is on – and every training session, every game and every step forward will be crucial for the Bayern star.