Antonio Conte should be back on the Tottenham Hotspur bench for the Champions League showdown with Milan, insists his assistant manager Cristian Stellini, but not against Chelsea.
Spurs beat West Ham United 2-0 today in the Premier League with Stellini on the touchline at the Tottenham Stadium.
Conte remained in Italy after the 1-0 Champions League loss to Milan at San Siro on the advice of his doctors, who said he had rushed his return to the touchline after emergency surgery to remove his gallbladder.
“No, I am not expecting Antonio is back for Chelsea but I expect Antonio will be back the week after Chelsea. For Milan or Wolverhampton,” said Stellini in his press conference.
“We have also the game in the FA Cup so maybe not Chelsea but we don’t know, because if Antonio feels well and he can live some stress without some pain or feel something strange, Antonio will be back.”
Although Stellini has a 100 per cent record standing in for Conte at Tottenham, he assures his boss was in constant contact from his home in Italy.
Spurs will face Chelsea on February 26, then Sheffield United in the FA Cup on March 1 and Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League on March 4.
The second leg of the Champions League Round of 16 with Milan will be in London on March 8.
Sky Sport Italia transfer expert Gianluca Di Marzio remains adamant that Conte has no intention of extending his current contract with Tottenham beyond the end of this season and is likely to want a return to Italy too.
His latest health scare, and the loss of friends Gianluca Vialli and Sinisa Mihajlovic to cancer and leukaemia in the space of a few weeks, also prompted him to think more about spending time with family rather than being so completely focused on work.