Frank Lampard will join Manchester City on loan until January, manager Manuel Pellegrini has confirmed.
The England midfielder signed for City's sister outfit New York City FC this summer, ending 13 trophy-laden years at Chelsea.
With the 2015 Major League Soccer season not starting until the spring, there was speculation that Lampard would head to Melbourne City, the third club owned by the City Football Group, on a short-term deal.
But following the Barclays Premier League champions' friendly against Olympiacos in Minneapolis on Saturday, Pellegrini confirmed the 36-year-old will now move to the Etihad before the next American season begins in March.
"As you know Frank has signed a contract with New York City and will start working here (the United States) in January as the season starts in March," Pellegrini told a post-match press conference televised by Sky Sports News.
"From next Wednesday he will start working with our team and will play for us until then.
"At the moment he will work with the squad and be a member of the squad. He will fight for a position.
"He knows we have a very good team, we have a lot of players in his position. He is one player more.
"We have a lot of games particularly with the Champions League - so he's very important for our team."
The move had been mooted for 48 hours previously with reports suggesting that Lampard would be unwilling to face his former club in the clash on September 21.
And when asked about that, Pellegrini suggested he would be open to the possibility of Lampard missing out against the Blues, although there was no guarantee he would not feature.
"I will talk about those things with him but he is a player for Manchester City, he will play every game that he needs to play," he added.
Lampard was unveiled in New York on July 24 and admitted he was eager to keep himself fit ahead of his American adventure.
"I'm going to keep fit, that's the main thing. How I do that is not clear yet," he said at his presentation with the MLS side.
"I'm going to sit round with people at the club and sort that out."
Lampard began his career at West Ham but moved to Stamford Bridge in 2001, making 649 appearances and becoming the Blues' all-time top scorer with 211 goals.
A spell in the Premier League could also help Lampard extend his England career, which has so far seen him win 106 caps, scoring 29 goals.
Source: PA
