Former France international Yoann Gourcuff has joined Stade Rennes on a short-term deal and says he never thought about retiring after being left without a club since the summer due to injury.
Gourcuff, 29, was released by Lyon when his contract expired at the end of June, and officially returned to the game on Monday when penning a contract at Roazhon Park which runs until the end of the season.
Gourcuff's five years at Lyon were severely disrupted by fitness problems and he has not played since March 21 because stress fractures in his foot have been slow to heal.
A league winner with Bordeaux in 2009, Gourcuff said he never considered quitting the sport.
"No, I love football too much," he told Ouest France. "It was out of the question to think about things like that."
The midfielder has had an agreement in place to sign for Rennes since September, but he has now put pen to paper on a deal that lasts until the end of the season. However, he is still not fit to return to first-team football.
"I'm very happy," he said. "I hope to get back on the pitch very quickly -- to be able to enjoy myself.
"I don't know when I'll be able to play again -- we'll see. I really miss being on the pitch."
Gourcuff, who won the last of his 31 caps for France in June 2013, was due to begin individual training at Rennes on Tuesday.
He says he lost time after a complicated injury was initially misdiagnosed and he is not expected to play for Philippe Montanier's side before the end of the year.
"The difficulty with this injury is that it's quite rare and there's not really an exact date [in terms of recovery time]," he said.
