Spurs head coach Antonio Conte is still in Italy as of this evening, and his attendance at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for tomorrow’s Premier League match against Manchester City is in doubt, according to the Daily Mail.
After experiencing severe abdominal pain and being diagnosed with cholecystitis, the Italian underwent gallbladder removal surgery back in his homeland on Wednesday (Spurs official).
Conte used his Instagram story to provide an update on his condition after undergoing surgery, revealing that he was already feeling better.
“Thank you for your lovely messages, my surgery went well and I’m already feeling better,” he said. Now it’s time to rest, and I can’t wait to get back on the field with the team.
According to the report, hopes for the 53-year-attendance old’s at the game are fading, and the expectation is that he will not be in north London for the visit of the Premier League champions.
Instead, Conte is expected to return to London early next week if he receives medical clearance to travel, with the goal of taking charge of the club’s preparations for next weekend’s top-flight match at Leicester City.
Conte’s place on the bench tomorrow will be taken by his trusted assistant Cristian Stellini, who also stood in for him during the Champions League match in Marseille last year after UEFA handed him a one-match ban.
During Friday’s pre-match press conference, Stellini shed some light on what happened to the head coach in the days leading up to his hospitalization.
“We thought it was more flu,” he told Football. London. We thought that because we had a lot of players with flu every week, but when he had scans to see how he was feeling, they realized it was a bigger problem and they had to do what they did.”
Manchester City has failed to score in all four of their league and cup games at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and Spurs will now be without their charismatic manager to help orchestrate an important victory.
Conte’s absence from tomorrow’s game will be obvious, but it makes perfect sense for him to return only when he is feeling well enough to contribute to the dressing room.
Tottenham should not risk a setback with the crucial Champions League first leg against AC Milan approaching.
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