The sought-after creative midfielder was due to join AC Siena in January but is delighted to prolong his Australian stint after almost four years abroad.

A torn hip flexor and protracted release from his French club Le Mans has seen the 21-year-old sidelined since his arrival in September.

With an all-clear on the paperwork and fitness front, the South African-born player was back on the park in the youth team’s 3-0 loss to Melbourne Victory on the weekend.

All going well he should be on a plane to Italy in May to see out the final year of an 18-month pre-agreement with the Bianconeri.

Baccus credits his NSW Institute of Sport coach, Jean-Paul de Marigny, and his years in Europe with “opening his eyes” to the demands of professional football.

“I’ve come back a little bit stronger and faster and my head’s a little bit better to be fair,” he told au.fourfourtwo.com.

“I’ve seen what it takes to make it as a professional footballer and it’s difficult – before I took it for granted a little bit.”

The former Blacktown City Junior signed on with Le Mans in 2009 after leaving Australia as a talented youth player in the national set up.

He was offered terms with Spanish outfit Majorca before deciding his development would be better served in France.

Last season he played almost 20 times for the lower-tier French club where he scored twice, agreeing to a three-year contract extension before the pull of family proved too great.

The young Aussie returned home and was all set to stay until his agent organised a successful trial with the Italians.

Now he wants to enjoy his time in Perth and get a few games under his belt before heading back to start the new season “fresh”.

“I wanted to be back home with my family and in an English-speaking country – I’d had enough,” Baccus said of his time abroad.

“I’ve just missed home – I missed my family. I’ve been away since I was 17 so it’s just been hard. People don’t understand how hard it is.

“The first year was very very difficult. (After that) it all got a lot easier because I learnt the language and made good friends – it got easier towards the end.”

Siena have big raps on the promising midfielder but their current roster of foreign players proved a sticking point.

Club president Massimo Mezzaroma explaining: "Kearyn is a talented young player that we have monitored for some time but his non-EU status has made it difficult for us to register him until 2013.

"We are therefore delighted that in the meantime he will join Perth Glory FC in his homeland of Australia where he will play first team football until his return to Italy next year."

But Baccus faces an uphill battle breaking into the Glory first team, with just 35 minutes of game time in two months it could prove a long road back.

“It’s a strong squad to be fair - I’m just going to have to work hard and see what happens,” he said.

“It’s pretty frustrating when you come back and you’re not playing. But I understand I’ve come late into the season so it’s going to take me a lot more time than the other boys.”

Now fluent in French, and with a wiser head on his shoulders, Baccus is learning there’s a whole lot more to the term home game advantage.

He currently shares digs with Glory’s 21-year-old Japanese import Ryo Nagai but has a large extended family living nearby.

“I’m pretty happy at the moment – I’d like to stay as long as I can,” he said. “I’ve got a good opportunity to go back overseas but at the moment I’d like to stay here.”