Saracens rugby director Brendan Venter tonight described the recruitment of Stevens as “a massively significant signing” for the club.

Stevens, 27, resigned from Bath last March. He had a four-year deal with the west country club believed to be worth around £1million.

Since his suspension was imposed, 32-times-capped Stevens – a member of the 2005 British and Irish Lions tour squad to New Zealand – has put his efforts into running a coffee shop business in Bath, along with former England and Bath colleague Lee Mears.

Stevens said: “I am looking forward to launching the next phase of my rugby career at Saracens in January next year.

“I have many great memories and friends in Bath, but there is something special happening at Saracens and I am very eager to be part of it.”

Saracens are currently in contention for the Premiership title, having been transformed under the direction of Venter who, like Stevens, was born in South Africa.

Saracens say Stevens will not train with their squad or be integrated within the club in any way until his ban has expired.

And when he eventually arrives in Hertfordshire, Stevens can expect to link up again with his former Bath and England captain Steve Borthwick, who is now skipper of Saracens.

Venter said: “This is a massively significant signing for the club.

“It demonstrates the scale of our ambition, and it also shows that top players recognise Saracens as a well-run club with a bright future.

“Matt is a world-class prop with his best rugby ahead of him, and I am sure he will flourish in our environment.”

Stevens made a tearful confession about his drugs shame in a television interview last year, but always maintained he wanted to return to top-flight rugby.

He tested positive for cocaine following a Heineken Cup game between Bath and Glasgow in December 2008, and subsequently received the prescribed sanction of a two-year ban that was imposed by a European Rugby Cup judicial committee.

Stevens, who made his England debut against New Zealand in 2004, decided not to appeal against the suspension.

The date of his return to the game is less than eight months before the 2011 World Cup begins in New Zealand, but if Stevens is able to quickly recapture the form that made him one of England’s top forwards, then a Test recall cannot be dismissed.

The 2003 World Cup winners are hardly well off for quality props, with Stevens banned and both Phil Vickery and Andrew Sheridan currently battling back from injuries.

Experienced Leicester prop Julian White, meanwhile, will be 38 next year and unlikely to still be part of England’s set-up.

Saracens chief executive Edward Griffiths expects Stevens to return to the game with a determination to make up for lost time.

Griffiths also believes the signing of Stevens is a coup for the club, and claimed every club in Europe would have taken him.

Griffiths told BBC Radio Five Live he is certain that Stevens will be ready to return, when the time comes.

He said: “He’s not exactly been lying on the beach. Anyone who knows Matt Stevens or has spent 30 seconds in his presence will know that he’s a phenomenally committed young man and he’s magnificently talented.

“I don’t think there’s a rugby club in Europe who wouldn’t like to be announcing tonight that Matt Stevens will be joining them next year.

“There’s nothing certain under the sun, but if I was to say anything was certain it’s that Matt Stevens will return hungrier, more competitive and even more influential as a front-row forward next year.

“We’ve had lots of discussions with Matt and we’re keen to move forward. We’re very confident that Matt is the type of person, the kind of character, who will not only fit in to the environment we have here but will contribute and enhance it.”