Keegan Hirst is set to come out of retirement and return to rugby league action after he accused NRL players of using religion to mask their homophobia.
Hirst, the former Wakefield Trinity prop, became the first British player to publicly come out as gay when he did so in 2015 before retiring in 2020. His return must wait until next season after it emerged he is not eligible to play for Batley Bulldogs in this campaign due to a Rugby Football League (RFL) registration ruling.
The 34-year-old has been training with Batley since last month and was originally named in the 21-man squad to play Sheffield Eagles on Wednesday, but he has since been withdrawn. Hirst had originally agreed to re-sign for Batley in 2020 but chose to retire in October of that year.
