Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has admitted that training is "almost impossible" amid a record heatwave in the eastern portion of the United States.
Maresca's side faces a crucial Club World Cup match on Tuesday against ES Tunis at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
But the day before the match, Chelsea was forced to hold a very brief training session amid a heat health emergency in Philadelphia. The city was expected to see 100 degree temperatures for the first time in 13 years. With humidity factored in, temperatures felt closer to 110 degrees in some areas.
“It’s almost impossible to train, or to make a session because of the weather now,” Maresca said on Monday 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.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle
“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 defeated LAFC to open the Club World Cup before losing to Brazilian side Flamengo on Friday.
That leaves the Blues needing to avoid defeat against ES Tunis to clinch a berth in the round of 16. Although Tuesday's game kicks off at 9 p.m. local time, temperatures are still expected to be in the upper 90s when the game gets underway.