Lee Warren, who is studying for his Master's degree at the University, gave the all-time leading Premier League goalscorer a one-off fitness test inside the 32 degrees, 76% humidity Lucozade Sport Conditions Zone.

The unique five-a-side pitch has accompanying sport science labs, in which the environmental conditions can be changed to reproduce the conditions of Manaus – where England face Italy in their first group stage game.

Postgraduate Sport and Exercise student Lee was working alongside Bedfordshire Professor of Sport Science John Brewer, the Lead Scientific Advisor to the Zone.

The 22-year-old devised a warm-up course for all players to undertake before they played in a match; and first to take on the challenge was the former Newcastle United ace.

"For me it was a dream come true, to have one of the all-time great England players use a training session that I setup using the skills I've gained at Bedfordshire and applied here; it's certainly one of the highlights of my time at university, it was truly amazing" said Lee, who has been learning his trade as a sport scientist at Stevenage FC as part of a one-year internship with the Hertfordshire club.

Following the "realistic" course, Shearer, who was later joined by fellow Euro 96 star Steve McManaman, stated it demonstrated exactly the kind of run out to which the Three Lions stars will be facing.

"The first time around the course was alright, but by my third time around it was extremely hard. In those conditions you couldn't keep it up for 10 minutes!

"When facing the heat and humidity, just walking around you're sweating so you can imagine trying to do that course – it makes breathing difficult, so the players are going to be struggling because it  is difficult. It was very realistic."

Lee, who originates from Needham Market, Suffolk was also the health and safety sports science expert for the Zone and was required to develop guidance and information for Lucozade. difficult. It was very realistic."

"My role included suggesting that each player was weighed, had their core temperature taken, while having their hydration monitored by urine samples. I also used papers, of which I have been working on, to produce information on the kind of stresses the body will be going through in Brazil, as shown on the Steven Gerrard poster and on other material displayed around the Zone."

Professor Brewer was head of sports science at Italia 90 helping to prepare the England team for the hot conditions in Italy.

The Director of Sport and Sport Enterprise said: "You could argue the Lucozade Sport Condition Zone is one of the biggest applied sport science labs to ever be established. It's not just that the players are competing in conditions simulating Manaus, it is that we can closely monitor and see how their bodies react.

"So for Lee to be playing such a pivotal part in the Zone is fantastic. It demonstrates the incredible industry opportunities accessible to students at the University of Bedfordshire."

For further quotes and information contact the Lucozade Sport team at Speed Communications on 020 7842 3224 or email lucozade@speedcomms.com

•  More high resolution photos available here