Enzo Maresca says Chelsea training ‘impossible' in extreme heat ahead of Esperance match
Enzo Maresca admits it is 'impossible' for his Chelsea players to train properly in the extreme Philadelphia heat as they prepare for their final FIFA Club World Cup group match against Esperance de Tunis on Tuesday.
Chelsea deployed huge industrial fans by the side of the pitch at their training base in Subaru Park on Monday and utilised cooling sprays to try to mitigate the effects of temperatures expected to peak at 37 degrees celsius (98.6 degrees fahrenheit) in Philadelphia ahead of the game, which is scheduled to kick off at 9pm local time.
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An extreme heat warning has been issued with the public warned to avoid strenuous activities outside, but Chelsea have no choice but to push hard against Esperance after Friday's 3-1 defeat against Flamengo left their hopes of advancing from Group D in the balance.
The Athletic reported this morning on the concerns of players, club executives and fans about conditions at the tournament with experts suggesting FIFA takes proactive moves to ensure safety.
'It's almost impossible to train, or to make a session because of the weather now,' Maresca said in his pre-match press conference.
'We are trying just to save energy for the game. This morning's session was very very very short, and it has just been about tomorrow's game plan and that's it, no more than that. Because as you can see it's not easy with these conditions, with this temperature, but we are going to try to do our best.
'I always try to avoid excuses, but I try to be honest: it's not about excuses, it's about reality. It is an excuse when it is not hot and we say that it is hot. That is an excuse. But if it's hot, it's hot. And it is difficult to work with this temperature. But we are here, we are trying to do our best and we are going to try to win again. This is the only thing that we can say and we can do.'
Chelsea captain Reece James sat out Monday's open training session due to illness, and Maresca also explained why Nicolas Jackson was not involved as he prepares to serve a one-match suspension for being sent off against Flamengo.
'Nico was not in the session this morning because it's the day before the game,' Maresca said of Jackson. 'We just used the ones that we're going to prepare for the game (with) and because he's not in the game tomorrow, he was not with us. We used only the ones that are available for tomorrow.'
(Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
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