England footballers Declan Rice and Ben Chilwell were seen racing each other on inflatable unicorns during a recovery session at St George's Park in Burton-on-Trent. The session followed England's 5-0 victory over the Czech Republic on Friday night.
The two players, aged 20 and 22 respectively, appeared in good spirits as they paddled around the pool on the large floats. Swimming is considered one of the best recovery techniques after competition, helping to ease injuries such as back pain and torn ligaments by supporting body weight and releasing pressure.
This is not the first time England stars have used inflatable unicorns for recovery. Similar images emerged after England's World Cup win against Tunisia in June, featuring Jesse Lingard, Jordan Pickford, Harry Maguire, and Jordan Henderson.
The light-hearted session came after a difficult week for Rice, who was forced to apologise for a social media post from 2015 that contained the phrase 'Up The Ra', a slogan linked to the IRA. Rice, who played three games for the Republic of Ireland before switching allegiance to England, made his debut for the national team in the match against the Czech Republic, playing 27 minutes.
England's next match is against Montenegro in the UEFA Euro Qualifiers on Monday.
