The Ivorian hasn’t featured this season and wasn’t even in the squad that travelled to Rotterdam for the club’s 4-0 win over Feyenoord in the Champions League on Wednesday.
He also didn’t make the bench for City’s 5-0 victory over Liverpool.
But his manager is urging the 34-year-old to knuckle down and show him he’s worthy of a place in the team.
Guardiola said: “We need him. I need him and the team needs him.
“He was so important last season. He’ll be so important this season.”
Speculation about the midfielder’s future has been rife at the Etihad ever since Guardiola’s arrival and the outspoken comments of the player’s agent Dimitri Seluk did not help his situation.
But, after initially being frozen out by Guardiola, Toure made a stunning return to help his side to a third-placed finish and earn himself a one-year extension to his contract.
With a long injury to Ilkay Gundogan, Guardiola was forced to rely on the veteran for large spells of 2016-17.
Toure made 31 appearances for City last season, despite only returning to the team for the 2-1 win at Crystal Palace in mid-November.
He was the only player out of contract last July to be given a new deal, as a raft of senior squad members were released to spark a summer re-build.
And Guardiola said: “He’s a part of the group. He’s a guy who I admire.
“What he’s done in his career, he’s an exceptional player.
“Now he wasn’t in the last games or in the squad.
“But of course he’s going to help us. We will see [if he’s in the squad for this weekend].”
The manager hinted ahead of Wednesday’s win in the Netherlands that he’d spoken to the midfielder about why he’d been omitted from the squad, blaming “sporting reasons” and insisting there had been no disagreement personally.
With Gundogan still recovering from a torn cruciate knee ligament problem, it leaves City with only Fernandinho and Fabian Delph in central midfield positions without Toure.
