Alexandre Marles, former physical trainer for the France team, PSG and OL, was the guest this Saturday of La Matinale Week-end on RMC. He gave his opinion on the virus currently affecting the Blues ahead of the World Cup final against Argentina.
Until the end, their journey will have been strewn with pitfalls. Faced with a cascade of packages before the start of the World Cup (Paul Pogba, N’Golo Kanté, Mike Maignan, Presnel Kimpembe, Christopher Nkunku, Karim Benzema…), the Blues are now affected by a mysterious illness. A virus which notably deprived Adrien Rabiot and Dayot Upamecano of the semi-final against Morocco (2-0), and which today concerns Raphaël Varane, Ibrahima Konaté and Kingsley Coman.
>> All the news of the Blues on D-1 of the final against Argentina
Internally, we talk about a cold snap while trying to play down the drama. “We make sure to manage as well as possible, to take maximum precautions, to adapt, to deal with it, without going overboard”, simply commented Didier Deschamps this Saturday at a press conference, on the eve of the final against Argentina. Various symptoms have been mentioned by the players and the members of the staff, without it being known in concrete terms what the main concerned are suffering from.
“There must have been a fever, since if players missed the match against Morocco and training, there was a fever. It’s not a minor cold that prevents you from training or play a match. And who says fever, says dehydration, says fatigue, loss of appetite… It’s as if we had played a big match. A match against illness, “said Alexandre Marles, former physical trainer of the French team, PSG and OL, guest this Saturday of La Matinale Week-end on RMC.
“It’s more of a nightmare for Deschamps”
Friday, at a press conference, Ousmane Dembélé spoke of a “headache and stomach ache” for Upamecano and Rabiot, who are operational again. “Given the comments he makes, it may look like a small gastro, a virus, with a little fever and which was transmitted by someone in the entourage, whether it is the staff, the stewardship, the staff from the hotel…”, adds Alexandre Marles, who is especially worried about Deschamps.
“Is it a nightmare? We are in a period where the players are in a recovery phase so it is not a nightmare for them, it is rather a nightmare for the coach who does not know whether he will be able to count on the sick. That is the question. Will they have recovered enough? Will they be able to play at 100%? “Wonders the one who was part of the Laurent Blanc’s staff with the Blues between 2010 and 2012.
So how do we best prepare these players recovering from the disease? “The question is how they have recovered. You have to know in terms of fatigue whether they have been able to sleep properly in recent nights, whether there have been no new cases this morning or tomorrow. And after recovery , it is especially in relation to the fever that they had. Stayed warm on Friday, Varane could return to training this Saturday, just like Coman, spared in recent days.