Manchester United winger Antony believes the air conditioning at World Cup stadiums in Qatar is responsible for rendering him and a number of his Brazil teammates unwell.
Illness has spread around the Selecao base over the last week and Neymar, who is recovering from an ankle injury, is among those to have suffered with symptoms of a fever. Antony suspects the air conditioning at some of the eight stadiums playing host to the tournament in Qatar is to blame for the recent outbreak.
Nozzles have been positioned around the edges of pitches to shoot cold air out at a variety of angles and cover as much of the playing area as possible. There are also nozzles beneath seats to provide relief from the desert heat for supporters in the stands.
Antony is less than impressed by World Cup organisers' efforts to make the temperature more manageable for players, insisting the air conditioning is leading to illness. "It was a bit difficult. I ended up having a bad feeling there for a few days that complicated me a bit," the 22-year-old told ESPN Brasil, per The Athletic, of his fitness.
"I'm recovering well and getting 100 per cent. It was more of a sickness, throat. It was the air conditioning [in the stadiums]. Not only me, but other players also had a cough and a bad throat. It's very difficult for me to get sick, but I'm happy to be an important part of the team. Whenever you need Antony, I'm available."
Air conditioning sickness is brought on when there is poor ventilation and the presence of pollutants, such as bacteria. Despite suffering with its symptoms, Antony has come off the bench in both of Brazil's World Cup fixtures so far, helping Tite's side defeat Serbia 2-0 and Switzerland 1-0. The five-time world champions have already booked their spot in the last 16 and round off their group-stage commitments against Cameroon on Friday evening, when their manager could decide to make numerous changes.
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Antony's club teammate Casemiro scored a late winner against Switzerland and received lavish praise from Neymar and Tite after the match. The former took to Twitter to write: "Casemiro has been the best defensive midfielder in the world for a long time."
Tite echoed those thoughts in his post-match press conference, saying: "As a habit, I always respect opinions and don't comment on them, but I will allow myself to do that today. I agree [with Neymar]."
Discussing Casemiro further, he added: "This is a player who works as a central player and when a game appears, he's the surprise element who appears from the back.
