Sheffield United are set to confirm they will allow convicted rapist Ched Evans to train with his former club, despite opposition from campaign groups.
Press Association Sport reports that the club have agreed to allow him to train in order to recover his fitness, but there is no move by the Blades at the moment to re-sign the striker.
The 25-year-old Welsh international was released from jail last month after serving half of a five-year jail term imposed in April 2012 for raping a 19-year-old woman in a hotel room in Rhyl, North Wales.
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.
Sheffield United cancelled a press conference ahead of their Johnstone's Paint Trophy match at Walsall on Wednesday night at short notice after news leaked that Evans was due to be allowed to train with the club. It is understood a statement announcing the club's decision had been planned for Wednesday.
The group End Violence Against Women Coalition criticised the move.
Spokeswoman Sarah Green 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."
Evans has always 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' 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.
