Soccer star Evans will speak over rape conviction

Footballer Ched Evans will make a "very personal and profound statement" next week following his release from jail after serving half of a five-year sentence for raping a 19-year-old woman in a hotel.

The 25-year-old Wales international Evans left Wymott Prison, near Leyland, Lancashire, yesterday morning.

In a statement on his website, his family said: “Next week Ched will make a very personal and profound statement by video which will be on his site and available for use by the media should they choose to do so.

“Ched is now adjusting to normal life after serving a sentence for a crime consistently denied.”

Evans was jailed in April 2012 for raping the woman in a hotel room in Rhyl, North Wales.

His release will pile more pressure on his former club, Sheffield United, to say whether he will be allowed to play for them again.

Many Blades fans have called for him to be rehabilitated, but almost 150,000 people have signed an online petition urging the Bramall Lane club not to welcome him back.

The striker denied raping the woman but was found guilty by a jury at Caernarfon Crown Court. He admitted having sex with her, but the woman told the jury she had no memory of the incident.

The prosecution had argued that the woman was too drunk to consent to sexual intercourse.