What is a "Late Fitness Test"?

Sometimes during a leadup to a football match (association football) the media reports that a certain player is facing a late fitness test. What is involved in this test, and how can they gauge the fitness of a player without wearing him out before the match?|||Check out the link below with Everton FC physio Mick Rathbone describing the "late fitness test". Here are excerpts:





"There are those who believe it is just a few stretches and a quick conversation between player and physio but that could not be further from the truth."


"Obviously the player is usually pretty keen to play so you have to ignore their emotional pleas to give them the OK," he added. "I would then report back to the manager with a percentage chance of the injury recurring again. From that point on it is up to him to decide whether he thinks it is worth risking the player for the game."


"A decision on whether to use a player should be made at least 24 hours before the game begins. If it is done any later the it will be uneconomical on his energy reserves."|||a quickie drug test maybe?