Lauren Hemp has revealed England players have been wearing “ice jackets” after training to cope with the extreme heat in London.
Temperatures in the captial have been close to 40 degrees on Monday and it is expected to be a similar story on Tuesday.
The timing is not ideal, with England currently training at the Lensbury Hotel in Teddington as they prepare for their Euro 2022 quarter-final against Spain on Wednesday.
To cope with the heat, England, who are also currently without their head coach Sarina Wiegman after she tested positive for Covid-19, are training earlier in the morning and are wearing “ice jackets” to cool down after sessions.
“It’s been nice, but it’s way too hot for me,” said Hemp. “We have got ice jackets, things like that, where straight after the session we will go and put it on just to cool down.
“Little things like that and earlier training, just to make sure we are not feeling as much from the heat. We have made sure we are prepared for any scenario.
“We were up early this morning just to get training done, because obviously it has been so hot. It’s only going to get hotter so it’s important we get the session done and try not to get too hot.
“It’s been a nightmare, but it’s nice to have some sun - because when do we ever get some sun? But they could have picked a better time!
“I think obviously the heat is a contributing factor. It’s not great, but it’s something that we can’t control. It’s important we stick to our job and aren’t out in the sun too long, because obviously it’s not great for the skin. You can get tired quite easy.
“We are doing things like training earlier just to make sure we are not affected much by it.”
Keeping it cool 🕶 pic.twitter.com/7IcdpjZanH
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 18, 2022
Wiegman has been unable to take training after testing positive for Covid last week and has instead been watching from afar, wearing a mask.
“It’s been different. Obviously Covid is still around and it’s a frustrating thing,” said Hemp. “It’s unfortunate that she’s got it, but we’ve practiced for so long, theses scenarios, and what would happen.
“She’s still involved in the sessions, remotely as well. It’s good to have that as well. We have still got a fantastic technical staff who have carried on supporting us.
“She’s still there and she’s still supporting us whether that’s remotely or in person as well.”
