Returning, join in again with the followers (7)
I believe the answer is:
retinue
'the followers' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'returning join in again' is the wordplay.
'returning' says the letters should be written in reverse.
'join' becomes 'unite' ('unite' can be a synonym of 'join'**).
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'again' becomes 're'.
'unite' in reverse letter order is 'etinu'.
'etinu' placed into 're' is 'RETINUE'.
'with' is the link.
(Other definitions for retinue that I've seen before include "Group of attendants for VIP" , "Group of servants with important person" , "Figure out" , "Suite - train" , "Band of attendants" .)