Jamal Musiala plays soccer for FC Bayern Munich. He collapses twice on the pitch. This happens in test matches. Musiala now talks about his illness.
He has so-called absences. This is a technical term for short dropouts. You lose consciousness for a few seconds. It is like a short blackout in the head.
These dropouts belong to the illness epilepsy. The brain then works differently for a short time. Many people have this illness. Other professional athletes are also affected by it.
Severin Freund is a well-known ski jumper. He also had this illness during his career. He still wins gold at the Olympics. He wants to encourage Musiala now.
Experts say: The illness is easy to treat. Musiala must take pills every day. Then the dropouts usually do not happen anymore. He can probably stay a professional.
Sports neurologists explain the collapses. High effort and fast breathing can trigger dropouts. But the risk is rather low in soccer. Musiala is in good treatment.
