Tottenham have announced that Antonio Conte will remain in Italy following the Champions League loss to Milan to recover from his recent operation.
The 53-year-old Italian coach underwent gallbladder surgery earlier this month after suffering from significant pain and was forced to miss Spurs’ 1-0 win over reigning champions Manchester City.
Conte announced that he defied doctors’ orders to join the Tottenham squad for their Champions League Round of 16 clash with Milan, which they lost 1-0 in San Siro.
As announced by Tottenham, Conte underwent some routine post-operation tests on Wednesday and will now remain with his family in Italy to continue his recovery from the gallbladder surgery. Assistant coach Cristian Stellini will again lead the first team.
It’s unclear how long Conte will remain in Italy, but he’ll likely miss the upcoming Premier League clash with West Ham, scheduled for February 19.
Pressure has started to mount on the Italian coach in recent months and a departure from Spurs at the end of the season doesn’t seem like too unrealistic a possibility.