Robbie Rogers, who left professional soccer after coming out as gay earlier this year, is training with the LA Galaxy, as first reported by LA Galaxy Insider Adam Serrano.

LA coach Bruce Arena said Rogers and the team had not yet determined how long the former U.S. international midfielder would train with the Galaxy. Rogers thanked Arena and the Galaxy for the opportunity via Twitter.

The Chicago Fire owns Rogers’ MLS rights after trading Dilly Duke and Dominic Oduro to the Columbus Crew in February. Fire coach Frank Klopas said the Galaxy had not yet contacted the team about a possible trade for Rogers, supported the 25-year-old’s return to soccer and hoped he’d consider playing with the Fire.

“Before he came out and his decision we made that move because we believe Robbie Rogers is a very good player, knowing that he would probably at some point leave his team in England. That hasn’t changed,” Chicago coach Frank Klopas said, according to the Fire’s official website.

“It’s great that he’s back into it. He’s a young man with a lot of years left and it’s something he loves doing. You can never get that back when its past. His home is in LA and he went to go back and play and I think that’s great news.”

Rogers, who won the 2008 MLS Cup with the Crew, joined Leeds United in 2012, before coming out. He left open the possibility of a return to soccer in an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper.

“There’s a good chance that I might come back to [soccer] but I need a few months to chill out, hang out with my family, go surf in California, just relax,” the former U.S. international midfielder told CNN.

Robbie Rogers training with the #lagalaxy . http://t.co/lvHw2PS6sO—
Adam Serrano (@LAGalaxyInsider) April 30, 2013

Had a great first day back w/ @LAGalaxy. Very appreciative that Bruce is allowing me to train w/ the team to get back in shape. #legsinbits—
Robbie Rogers (@robbierogers) April 30, 2013

Former U.S. National player Robbie Rogers announced he was gay on his blog in February. (Pete Norton/Getty Images)

Former MLS and U.S. National team player Robbie Rogers made headlines last month when he announced he was gay and leaving the sport via his blog. Rogers explained to The Guardian Friday why he felt an exit was his only option and hinted that his soccer career might not be over.

“Would I have had the same opportunities when I was younger if I’d come out?” Rogers said in The Guardian. “I don’t think so. There would have been that mentality: ‘Oh, he’s gay … how will that affect the team?’”

Since coming out, Rogers has considered becoming an agent for change in regard to football and sports, but doesn’t want to be a spokesman.

“About a month ago I would’ve thought: ‘I don’t want to be a spokesman for gay footballers,’” he said in the Guardian interview. “I have so many different things I’m interested in. But after thousands of emails, I’m thinking, OK, how can I help others? How can I make some positive change?”

“I’ve heard it recently from coaches. Obviously they’re not homophobic but they’ll say: ‘Don’t pass the ball like a fag,’” he said in the interview. “What are you talking about? Does it make a difference, if you’re gay or straight, as to how you pass the ball? Are you on drugs?’ I guess they say it because they think it’s funny. There’s the stereotype of a gay man being soft and flamboyant.”

According to The Guardian, Rogers’ immediate future will include the fashion industry and possibly a return to soccer:

He flies to New York this weekend and will meet people at Ralph Lauren so they can decide whether he is suited to their new campaign. He has also won himself a place at the London School of Fashion and could begin a three-year course in September. But he might just have enough talent, contacts and nous to concentrate on Halsey – the menswear brand he co-owns in LA. And then, of course, there is football.

“Most days I wake up and I go to my computer and look at my emails and then go onto the football sites. Football will always be part of me. I don’t know if I’m done playing yet. I might ask [the coach] Bruce Arena if I can train with LA Galaxy – we’ll see. I miss it and think about it a lot. But I’m so happy now I don’t want to mess with that. Football was my life and maybe I’ll need to go back … or maybe I’ll just be a fan. But it’s an industry where there are lots of problems – from sketchy agents to homophobic culture.”

Robbie Rogers has come out and retired from soccer at age 25. (Pete Norton, Getty Images)

Former Columbus Crew, Leeds United, and U.S. National Team midfielder Robbie Rogers has come out as gay and retired from the sport effective immediately, the player revealed today in a blog post on his web site.

Some selections from Rogers’ statement:

For the past 25 year I have been afraid, afraid to show whom I really was because of fear. Fear that judgment and rejection would hold me back from my dreams and aspirations.   Fear that my loved ones would be farthest from me if they knew my secret.  Fear that my secret would get in the way of my dreams.

Dreams of going to a World Cup, dreams of The Olympics, dreams of making my family proud.  What would life be without these dreams? Could I live a life without them?

…

I always thought I could hide this secret. Football was my escape, my purpose, my identity. Football hid my secret, gave me more joy than I could have ever imagined… I will always be thankful for my career. I will remember Beijing, The MLS Cup, and most of all my teammates.  I will never forget the friends I have made a long the way and the friends that supported me once they knew my secret.

Now is my time to step away. It’s time to discover myself away from football.  It’s 1 A.M. in London as I write this and I could not be happier with my decision. Life is so full of amazing things. I realized I could only truly enjoy my life once I was honest.  Honesty is a bitch but makes life so simple and clear.  My secret is gone, I am a free man, I can move on and live my life as my creator intended.

If Rogers’ retirement at the age of 25 is permanent, he will not join former Montreal Impact midfielder David Testo as the first openly gay, professionally active soccer players in or from the United States. Testo came out in November 2011 but has not been signed by a club since.

Rogers played one year of college soccer at the University of Maryland before leaving school early to sign with Dutch club Heerenveen in 2006. After failing to catch on with the team, Rogers returned to the United States and enjoyed his most successful stint as a professional, making 106 appearances and scoring 13 goals with 16 assists for Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer.With the Crew, Rogers captured the 2008 MLS Cup and the 2008 and 2009 MLS Supporters Shields.

Rogers transferred to Leeds United in 2012, but left the club by mutual consent on January 15th after failing to make an impression in the squad and suffering multiple injuries.

Rogers made 18 appearances for the U.S. Men’s National Team in his career, and was one of the last players cut from the 2010 World Cup squad.