Footballer Ched Evans has won an appeal against his conviction for rape and will now face a retrial, reports The Guardian.In April 2012, former Manchester City and Sheffield United player Evans was convicted of raping a 19-year-old woman at a Rhyl hotel in 2011. He was released from prison in October 2014 after serving half of his five-year term and has continued to protest his innocence.Evans, now 27, has not returned to football since. However, the former Welsh international has come close to signing for several clubs, including former employers Sheffield United. This was scuppered by sponsors warning that they would end their deals if a convicted rapist was added to the squad.On Thursday morning appeal judges quashed the 2012 conviction "after fresh evidence emerged," though this cannot currently be reported for legal reasons. Evans was present at the Court of Appeal in London with his partner, Natasha Massey.While the initial conviction has been quashed, Evans has not been found innocent of the rape charge. Rather, he will face a second trial in which the fresh evidence is heard.The woman Evans is accused of raping in 2011 was later forced to change her name and move home after her identity was posted on social media. 11 people were prosecuted for revealing her name as victims of sexual crime are entitled to life-long anonymity.No further information regarding the retrial has been released.