Newcastle and England midfielder Joey Barton will be released from jail after being granted bail by a judge at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday.

Barton, 25, had twice been refused bail following his arrest in Liverpool on 27 December when he was charged with common assault and affray.

But his request to the Crown Court was accepted only hours after his second hearing with Liverpool magistrates ended unsuccessfully.

After a private hearing that lasted an hour, Barton's legal team, led by solicitor Daniel Weed, confirmed the former Manchester City player would leave Liverpool's Walton Prison on Thursday evening. No conditions of the bail were revealed.

Weed said: "Mr Joseph Barton has been granted bail with conditions until he appears at Liverpool Magistrates' Court on 16 January."

Earlier Thursday, Barton's assault charge was upgraded from a Section 39 common assault to a Section 47 assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

It has been alleged Barton and a group of his friends were involved in two separate incidents following a row with another group inside a McDonald's restaurant in Church Street, Liverpool, last Thursday.

The player's brother, Andrew Barton, 19, from Widnes, is charged with actual bodily harm and affray and Nadine Wilson, 27, from Huyton, Merseyside, is charged with common assault and affray.

They did not appear on Thursday but will stand alongside him in the dock at Liverpool Magistrates' Court on 16 January.