Vincent Kompany still in hospital after collapse at Bayern Munich training

Bayern Munich head coach Vincent Kompany is still in hospital, and the club expects him to be away for weeks rather than days. He collapsed on the training pitch on Friday.

Bayern sporting director Max Eberl confirmed on Saturday that Kompany remains in a stable condition. The Guardian reports that Bayern expect him to miss an extended period while he continues hospital treatment for a virus. Eberl said the timeframe is measured in weeks, not days.

Yahoo Sports reported that Kompany was taken from the training ground by helicopter. Doctors are still running examinations to establish the exact nature of his condition. No recovery date has been set.

The illness has already kept Kompany away from one big match. He missed the press conference before Wednesday's home Champions League game against Arsenal, but he was back in the dugout, the technical area where coaches stand during matches. That game ended 2-2. Champions League is the continent's top club competition, and Bayern's next game in it is on 3 November, away to Atletico Madrid in Spain.

Assistant coach Aaron Danks will take charge of Sunday's Bundesliga match at Freiburg. He also spoke to reporters on Saturday in Kompany's place. Bayern did not consider asking for the Freiburg game to be postponed. The club's second team had its own fixture called off on Friday after the collapse.

Joshua Kimmich, who has been on bereavement leave since Tuesday, will also miss the trip to Freiburg. Bayern were top of the Bundesliga, Germany's top division, at the start of the weekend. They were level on 14 points with Borussia Dortmund and one point ahead of Freiburg and Bayer Leverkusen.

For a football club, a head coach's illness is a matter of planning and patience first. Bayern's players and staff now have to get through the next few weeks with Danks at the front of the group, while the man who normally leads them is recovering in hospital.