Manchester City and France international footballer Benjamin Mendy, who has been charged with seven counts of rape, was on Friday freed on bail by a court in northwest England.
Judge Patrick Thompson granted bail to the 27-year-old defender at a hearing at Chester Crown Court subject to “stringent” conditions, including the surrender of his passport.
Mendy, who is accused by five women of seven counts of rape and one of sexual assault, has been in custody since being arrested and charged on August 26 last year.
The trial will not take place until at least June, Thompson said, and Mendy is due to appear again for a hearing on January 24.