Man Utd star Antony blames air-conditioning for fitness issues at World Cup 2022 after missing Brazil training

MANCHESTER UNITED star Antony has revealed that the air-con inside Qatar’s World Cup stadiums made him feel unwell.

The Brazilian winger has come off the bench in his country’s victories over Serbia and Switzerland to help them reach the knockouts with a game to spare.

However, after their opening win, he joined injured teammates Neymar and Danilo in sitting out the following training session.

And during an interview with streamer Casimiro, he blamed the Middle East nation’s air-conditioning for making him sick.

Antony, 22, said: “It was a bit difficult. I ended up having a bad feeling there for a few days that complicated me a bit.

“I’m recovering well and getting 100 per cent. It was more of a sickness, throat. It was the air conditioning.

“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.”

That comes after it was revealed that both Alvaro Morata and Dani Carvajal started Spain's World Cup opener on the bench due to the sniffles.

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The duo - who are regular starters for their respective clubs and country - were left out of the starting XI for last Wednesday's romp against Costa Rica.

Their absences raised questions as neither of them had been dealing with any injuries going into Qatar 2022.

But it was later revealed the duo had caught colds using the air conditioners in their hotel rooms to keep cool.