Carlos Tevez trains alone upon Manchester City return

Tevez arrives back at Man City on Thursday... and trains alone

The striker arrived at the Carrington complex at 1210 BST on Thursday and was put through his paces by a club physio.

Carlos Tevez has returned to Manchester City after serving his two-week suspension - and trained alone.

On Wednesday evening, City announced Tevez, 27, would be facing disciplinary proceedings over allegations he refused to play in last month's Champions League defeat at Bayern Munich.

The club said he had a case to answer over an alleged breach of contract.

Tevez had not been expected to train with City's first-team squad and instead underwent a fitness session and assessment.

It is unclear whether the Argentina striker will be kept away from his team-mates for the entire duration of the formal disciplinary process.

City suspended Tevez for two weeks on full pay after the Bayern game while they gathered evidence.

After the match, City boss Roberto Mancini said: "Tevez refused to play."

But, in a statement released the following day, Tevez said the dispute was a "misunderstanding". It is believed that the Argentina international stands by that view and categorically refutes the accusation he refused to play.

It is understood the formal disciplinary proceedings will take the form of a hearing to be staged during the next fortnight.

A senior City figure who has not been part of the initial investigation will chair this hearing.

Tevez can request that club captain Vincent Kompany or a member of the Professional Footballers' Association to be present.

If the ruling goes against him, he could then appeal - with that hearing likely to involve a representative of the Abu Dhabi-based owners.

If he is again unsuccessful, Tevez would be able take his case to the Premier League, meaning the dispute may not be settled until mid-December.

Sam Allardyce believes Tevez's best chance of playing again before the January transfer window is in the Championship with West Ham.

City have already rejected such a move but the Hammers' boss said: "When the decision is finally made regarding what's happening with Carlos then perhaps the co-chairman David Sullivan might want to pursue it.

"What might be in our favour is an emergency loan down into the championship, if he wants to play football.

"The Championship is the only option for him to play football from now until January and we'll see what happens after that."

Source: BBC Sport