Pep Guardiola has four Man City priorities after returning to work

Normally when Manchester City release pictures from a training session, all eyes are on which players are there - and who is not.

This week, the returning figure that most fans were keen on was manager Pep Guardiola, who is back to health and back in Manchester after his back surgery. Guardiola was missed on the touchline against Sheffield United and Fulham, with Juanma Lillo guiding City to six valuable points - with Guardiola still playing a key role from afar in the preparation and in-game tactics.

Now Guardiola has returned, he will be looking to make up for lost time - in particular in introducing himself to two new signings. City begin a run of seven games in 23 days, including a trip to Germany, two trips to London, and a Carabao Cup clash up in Newcastle.

With Guardiola away, there have also been a number of developments regarding certain players - from two more injury concerns, Gareth Southgate's comments on Phil Foden's position, and some good performances from fringe players. Cole Palmer has left the club completely.

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Over the coming days and weeks, Guardiola will have a number of priorities to address now he's back at the club.

Before the international break, the midfield looked relatively settled, with Rodri and Mateo Kovacic regulars in Kevin De Bruyne's absence, Julian Alvarez as number ten, and then Phil Foden or Bernardo Silva drifting in from the right to create a dual number ten system.

However, Kovacic didn't play on international duty and complained of a minor injury, with reports in Croatia suggesting he could be set for a brief spell on the sidelines. Alvarez will be flying back from South America, where