Rennes have formalised the signing of France playmaker Yoann Gourcuff, who was a free agent, a source close to the club said on Monday.

The 31-times capped midfielder had already agreed in September to return to the club where he began his career but had not yet pen to paper.

Gourcuff, 29, is expected to begin training on Tuesday but he may not make a first-team appearance until 2016 as he recovers from injury.

"I am very happy. I hope to be back on the field very soon and to be able to enjoy myself. I don't know when I will play again, we'll see, I miss being on the pitch," Gourcuff said in an interview with newspaper Ouest France.

Gourcuff's five-year spell at Lyon was marred by injuries and he left the Stade de Gerland in the summer when his contract expired.

He has since been recovering from a stress fracture in his foot and had insisted he did not want to rush back.

Gourcuff, who won the last of his 31 caps in June 2013, started his career at Rennes before moving to AC Milan in 2006 and later joining Bordeaux, with whom he won the French title in 2009.