Left to return to the game (5)
I believe the answer is:
lotto
'game' is the definition.
(the UK National Lottery)
'left to return to' is the wordplay.
'left' becomes 'l' (common abbreviation).
'return' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'to' in reverse letter order is 'ot'.
'l'+'ot'+'to'='LOTTO'
'the' is the link.
(Other definitions for lotto that I've seen before include "National game with large money prizes" , "Bingo-like game" , "form of gambling" , "Game of chance based on numbered balls being drawn at random" , "Children's game, housey-housey" .)