"Ivan Toney's England Call-Up: A Brilliant Move That Could Bring Football Home Amidst Heat for Harry Kane & Team"

ENGLAND’s chances of winning the World Cup this summer may not be decided on the pitch, but rather in the physio room.

and Co got their first taste of this summer with a lacklustre 1-0 win over on Saturday in scorching 33C Florida heat.

Ivan Toney’s England selection could prove pivotal in bringing football home Credit: Shutterstock Editorial His expertise in managing the heat could be the difference for Tuchel’s troops Credit: Shutterstock Editorial

Manager rotated his full squad to manage minutes, but load management might not be as big an issue as protecting his squad from the climate and sweltering heat.

While Kane delivered an encouraging verdict on how were dealing with the heat since arriving, it will doubtless prove to be a huge challenge throughout the tournament.

But the surprise inclusion of , who played half the match on the weekend, could be a stroke of genius for Tuchel for more than purely footballing reasons.

Toney, 30, plays for Saudi Pro League club , and is therefore used to the hot climate and the challenges that will represent.

The view that his expertise could be decisive is shared by Dom Rae, a Sports Medicine and Performance Specialist with a BSc in Physiotherapy and a Master’s degree in Sports and Exercise Medicine, and currently the Head of Sports Medicine and Performance at Ten Percent .

In an exclusive interview with SunSport, Dom said: “Across all the nations, there are going to be the players who are more accustomed and acclimatised to these type of climates.

“Someone like Ivan who is over here, he’s used to having to overhydrate, so he’s used to what it feels like to be having all these different sort of electrolyte and gel products in his stomach.

“He’s used to what he needs to do at a water break. He knows what he needs to do from a perspective of things like changing his shirt.

“And it sounds such a small thing, but in the Premier League, players might wear the same shirt for the same game, they might wear two.

“Even from a perspective of utilising that water break, what does your routine look like in those three minutes? How much fluid do you take on?

“Because some players might down 500ml of water, and then they realise that actually I now can’t run for the rest of this half, because you just feel it in your midsection.

“Whereas, players who are experienced probably know they can be a swill-in-your-mouth perspective to still get some sugars in, and you can dilute electrolytes in 200 mil and feel okay.

“So, it’s these things that you learn, and Ivan will have been dialled into what this is.

“He’ll also know how to manage the day before a game, and with something like hydration, if you’re relying on match day and the water breaks as your hydration strategy, you’re already too late.”

Games at the World Cup will include two water breaks, one per half, to allow players to hydrate during matches.

Dom is keen to dispel any myth that players should be training harder to get up to speed, and in fact says the nation who will do best at the World Cup will be the one that handles fatigue the best.

He warns that in his experience, it takes footballers around 2-3 weeks to fully acclimatise to the heat.

However, he praises England’s choice of base camp in Kansas, Texas, as “clever”.

He explains: “I think England have been clever with their position of base camp, but then they need to get their training times right.

“There’d be no point having their three kick-off times then and training at 10 am. Likewise, there’d be no point training at 9 pm.

“Because routine’s going to be important from a hydration, nutrition, sleep perspective, but also from an acclimatisation perspective…

“Their base camp in Kansas City sits in the middle of their games around Boston, , and their game in Texas, so they get the best of both.

“They haven’t gone and based themselves in New York and then it’ll be a bit of a shock when it comes to Texas, for example.”

Dom’s experience sees him currently working with UAE Pro League with Al Nasr Football Club, while previous jobs have seen him work for , , Sheffield Wednesday and Huddersfield.

And the heat risk isn’t the concern he has over player welfare at the tournament, with Dom fearing an injury crisis including possible ACL concerns.

He said: “I think there’s very, very high risk. We’ve seen this year alone, Tottenham with five ACLs, and we know ACLs generally carry an injury type from neuromuscular fatigue and that’s high one of the highest risk factors for those types of injuries.

“You could hypothesise going into a World Cup off the back of the year we’ve had, that um the risk of injury is a lot higher.

“Whether that be heat and physiological stress, dehydration, and the injury risk factors that come with that from a mineral imbalance and a mineral deficiency, the travel and making sure that nutrition timing’s right, sleep, it will be the key things.”