Saints’ opponents in the Capital One Cup quarter-finals, Sheffield United, will reportedly allow convicted rapist Ched Evans to train with them, following his release from prison.

The 25-year-old was handed a five-year jail term for raping a 19-year-old woman in a hotel room in 2011 and was freed last month after serving half of that sentence.

Evans will apparently now return to training with his club, who host Saints in the last eight of the League Cup on Tuesday, December 16, although a decision is yet to be made on whether he will play for them again.

Almost 157,000 people have signed a petition urging Sheffield United not to re-sign Evans and the campaign group Object said on Twitter: "Object stands in solidarity with the woman Ched Evans was convicted of raping and all other rape survivors affected by today's news."

But others, including the Professional Footballers' Association, believe he should be allowed to play again.

It is understood the club had planned to issue a statement clarifying their position tomorrow but this may be brought forward now the news has leaked out.

Evans denied raping the woman, saying the sex was consensual, but he was found guilty by a jury at Caernarfon Crown Court.

The prosecution said the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was too drunk to consent to sexual intercourse.

Port Vale defender Clayton McDonald also admitted having sex with the victim but was found not guilty of the same charge.

An appeal against Evans's conviction was rejected by three judges at the Court of Appeal in 2012. His case is due to be looked at by the Criminal Case Review Commission.

After his release, Evans released a video on his website protesting his innocence and vowing to clear his name.

He said: "It is my hope that I will be able to return to football.

"If that is possible then I will do so with humility, having learnt a very painful lesson.

"I would like a second chance."

Sheffield United signed Evans from Manchester City for £3million in 2009 and he scored 42 goals in 103 games for the Blades, who released him a month after his conviction.

 

Although there is no move by United to re-sign Evans, the club's willingness to allow him to train with them prompted a response from End Violence Against Women Coalition spokeswoman Sarah Green, who said: "We are appalled that top football club Sheffield United are taking the first step to allowing an unrepentant convicted rapist back into their team this week.

"Footballers are critical role models for young men and women in particular, and the player concerned is now set to return to top flight football when he has shown no remorse for his crime.

"Indeed he has used his profile to persistently claim his 'innocence' in the media and re-traumatise his own and many other victims."