MELBOURNE superstar Christian Petracca has returned to pre-season training, joining fellow midfield gun Clayton Oliver on the track on Friday.

It has been a tumultuous off-season for the Demons, with Petracca's future becoming a talking point.

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The 2021 premiership player and four-time All-Australian was back at the club on Friday, hitting the track on a hot day in Melbourne, with the mercury passing 36 degrees. 

Petracca only played 13 games this year after suffering life-threatening injuries in the King's Birthday match in June.

He expressed his frustration with the Demons around their standards, along with the management of his injury, before deciding to stay at the club.

After Melbourne finished 14th this year, there has been significant change at the club.

President Kate Roffey stepped down in September and it was announced in October that chief executive Gary Pert would depart at year's end.

As Petracca and Oliver sweated it out, new draftees Harvey Langford, Xavier Lindsay and Aidan Johnson also hit the track, along with former Brisbane winger Harry Sharp.