Football Federation Australia has hired a mobile cryotherapy chamber in another bid to ensure the Socceroos' are at peak condition for Wednesday night's match against Honduras.
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It is the federation's latest attempt to gain every possible edge after shelling out $900,000 to equip a chartered flight with massage table and physio facilities to accelerate the players' recovery following their first leg draw in San Pedro Sula.
Parked outside the team's hotel on Monday was a mobile whole-body cryotherapy unit, that was used to quicken their recovery process and decrease the effects of any minor knocks, pain or stiffness suffered during the first leg in Central America.
The unit requires players spend between 90 seconds and three minutes inside a chamber that exposes them to temperatures as low as minus 160 degrees. According to the company hired by the FFA, the short exposure to the severe cold results "in reduction of pain and inflammation" and "improvements to physique".
The treatment claims to increase blood flow and oxygen delivery to injury sites and speed recovery of damaged tissues.
Since the team's arrival in camp at Sydney's Olympic Park on Sunday, the players have had access to the cryosauna to ensure they'll be in peak condition for Wednesday's vital second-leg match.
The first stage of the Socceroos' recovery took place on the 22-hour chartered flight from Honduras to Sydney, which took off just two hours after the final whistle at the Estadio Olimpico. The rear of the plane was turned into a mid-air physiotherapy studio, with massage tables fixed across the seats.
The Socceroos' sports scientist controlled the heat and light settings to assist their sleep and body clock adjustment while the players did stretching exercises at the airport gate as the plane refuelled in Hawaii.
Honduras arrived in Sydney on Monday morning - about 21 hours after the Socceroos - and travelled on commercial flights, which included a lengthy stop over in Los Angeles. Los Catrachos spent a day in LA to break up the trip to Australia and hired hotel rooms to sleep during the morning of their stopover. They trained in Los Angeles in the afternoon before flying out that night.
The majority of the squad travelled in business class but a handful of players were forced to travel in economy. Honduras struggled to afford the trip to Australia despite receiving some funding from FIFA.
