• Striker says Mancini treated him like a dog in Munich
• City officials expect the Argentinian to apologise
Manchester City officials are ready to forgive Carlos Tevez for his misdemeanours and begin the process of integrating him back into Roberto Mancini's squad when he returns from Argentina on Tuesday . Tevez, for his part, said: "I know what it takes to revert the situation," while admitting issues remain with his manager. Indeed Tevez went as far as to say Mancini treated him "like a dog" over the incident at Bayern Munich in September.
City expect their rebel striker on Tuesday morning and have made plans to assess his fitness and offer him a tailor-made training programme. Yet with the Argentinian in a not entirely contrite mood during a decidely spiky interview with South American television given before his departure from Buenos Aires it is clear bridges between the recalcitrant player and Mancini need rebuilding.
If City imagined their former captain might eat humble pie such notions were disabused as Tevez made it clear that, while he is ready to commit to a fresh start, he feels wronged by what he perceives as Mancini's mishandling of the situation. By way of pouring oil on troubled waters the striker also revealed that he almost came to blows with the Italian last season.
Nonetheless it is expected that planned talks with City's manager will end in an apology from the player followed by a truce which, by fast-tracking Tevez back into the first team, could benefit both parties. Although City believe the striker's claims that he is only two weeks away from match fitness are unrealistic, they will tread carefully around a man who has spent the last three and half months in Argentina following a falling-out with Mancini and have instructed staff that he should not be cold-shouldered. In return Tevez will almost certainly drop his appeal to the Premier League against a six-week, £1.2m, club fine.
"I've decided to return to Manchester. I know what it takes to revert the situation. I know it'll be hard but it's a nice challenge," said Tevez who, judging by warm comments from James Milner and Pablo Zabaleta, will be welcomed back into the dressing room. "I want to win the City fans back over. People turned their back on me. I didn't understand City fans burning my shirt. It hurt. But it's normal they react like that because they read lots of things."
Initially it seemed that the fallout from the forward's refusal to warm up during a Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich at the end of September would prompt his January departure from City. As the cold war between player and club intensified, Internazionale, Milan and Paris St-Germain all registered informal interest in Tevez – who stomped off to Buenos Aires in November – but, ultimately, no bid arrived. On Monday he defended his stance in Munich. "I never refused to play," said Tevez. "I refused to keep warming up. He's [Mancini] in the middle of an argument, so then he tells me to keep on warming up and treats me like a dog. I was willing to play, but the coach was in such a foul mood because he had that argument with [Edin] Dzeko. Mancini said some horrible things to me.
"The club had an investigation and fined me. The club statement protected the manager; I got a lot of heat from the media. We could have sorted things out in a different way. I found shelter with family [in Argentina]."
During long afternoons playing golf, Tevez came to accept that reconciliation with his manager represented the only realistic way of repairing his damaged reputation before securing a summer exit from the Etihad Stadium. Similarly, City's recent slump in form reminded Mancini that the Argentinian's goalscoring talent could prove title-clinching. "I've been training on my own," said Tevez. "I know I can be back on the pitch in two weeks. There's no need for City to make me have two training sessions a day."
Although Mancini expects an immediate apology it may be grudging. "Last season we almost exchanged punches after a home game with Newcastle," said Tevez. "We almost hit each other in the dressing room but we spoke the following day. Mancini's position got stronger when [Sergio] Agüero joined. I don't know if he would have done the things he did last season."