FORMER favourite and Championship regular Ross Divorty is coming back to York City Knights on a short-term deal - and the 27-year-old is determined to "do whatever I can" to help his home-town club to promotion.

As revealed by The Press, the Knights looked to find new blood quickly after seeing second-row enforcer Ryan Mallinder ruled out for the season due to the double leg break he suffered last Friday.

York-born-and-based Divorty was the obvious catch, given he was without a club after being released by Halifax in March, and, after joining in Tuesday's training session, the Wales international is set to put pen to paper tonight.

There have been a couple of sticking points, however: Divorty needed clearance from Fax as the terms of his release meant he could not sign for a rival club without their say so, and, in a matter of concern for head coach James Ford, he is unlikely to see out the season due to plans to go to Australia in late August.

But a short-team deal has been agreed and, with York the "only club" he would have joined, the player insists he cannot wait to don the shirt again and do his bit for as long as possible.

He is ineligible for Saturday's iPro Sport Cup final against Keighley but is in line to make his debut in the League One visit of Coventry on Wednesday night.

"I'm really looking forward to it," said Divorty, who was only released from The Shay by mutual consent as the travelling to and from Halifax clashed with his teaching commitments at Osbaldwick Primary School.

"I've wanted to come back to York for a while. I enjoyed it when I was last here, it's my home-town club and I want to do what I can to help.

"I loved it at Halifax but four hours on the motorway there and back was impacting on my teaching and on my rugby.

"I want to play well and keep improving, and, without that travelling, I feel I can do that at my home-town club."

As for his likely departure down under, he said: "That put a dampener on things a bit from James Ford's perspective and I can understand that.

"He wants everybody by the back end of the year to be in it all the way and here for the play-offs and that's fair enough.

"But after they had a few injuries, I'm here to help and I want to do whatever I can, play as many games as I can and play as well as I can."

Regarding his agreement with Fax, he added: "I couldn't sign for another Championship club and I also wanted to be loyal to them, but I spoke to the chairman about the possibility of signing for York and he was okay with it.

"That's how I wanted it anyway - it was York or nobody."

The former New Earswick All Blacks junior, son of former Great Britain star Gary, has been a Championship regular with Featherstone and Fax since leaving hometown club York at the end of 2008.

He has racked up more than 200 first-grade appearances - 29 in his first stint at York, 63 for Featherstone, 101 for Halifax and a dozen for Wales, including against England, New Zealand and Australia in the Four Nations.

Added the former York St John University student: "Speaking to James and (chairman) John Guildford, their ambitions are to get promoted. They've been travelling really well, though maybe just came off the pace a little a few weeks ago, perhaps concentrating on this final.

"I want to see them reach the top and help them to get there.

"They're a really good set of lads. I know a lot of them - I've grown up with the likes of (fellow Yorkies) Pat and Ed Smith, Kriss Brining and Jack Anderson, I know Matty Dale and Tommy Saxton from being at Featherstone and Halifax, and I was in Hull's academy with Danny Nicklas.

"Pat was telling me last year there's a really good team ethos and that's continued this year - there's obviously a really good togetherness that James Ford has brought in, and that can't half help a rugby team."