After taking a five-week rest, Antonio Conte is back at Tottenham, although his time at Tottenham may soon come to an end
Antonio Conte underwent surgery to remove his gallbladder and subsequently spent close to five weeks resting. The Italian coach is now back at Tottenham ahead of their clash against AC Milan, talking about the game and his future at the club.
Conte hopes it’s the last time he is away from his job
Antonio Conte doesn’t believe that his extended rest has changed his mind about his future at Spurs. Conte’s contract runs out in the summer but it doesn’t seem likely that he would sign a new one.
“This type of situation can happen and I discovered after the surgery that many of my friends had the same surgery,” he told reporters.
“This was emergency surgery, not planned, and that’s very different. Previously a lot of sad news happened and when [the doctors] told me that I had only [needed] surgery, for this reason I was happy, because you never know what could happen.
“This doesn’t change my mind. Now, I repeat that I have to stay with the players and breathe the atmosphere of the training ground.”
While his assistant Cristian Stellini had some good results in his absence, beating Man City and Chelsea, the Spurs were knocked out of the FA Cup by the Championship side Sheffield United.
“I wanted to come back after the game against Sheffield United but the doctors stopped me,” he continued.
“They said, ‘you have to listen to us and wait two days more and come back to London on Sunday for the game against Milan’. But honestly, I wanted to come back early.”
With Spurs losing the first leg of their last 16 Champions League tie against Milan 1-0, Conte went on to spread some positivity about the Milan game, adding: “[Monday] was positive. My feeling was really good. It’s important for me to work with my players and the staff and prepare for the games.
“From afar I tried to stay very close with my players using video. To be present is totally different and for this reason I have to say thanks to my whole staff. They did a really good job and the players to stay for three weeks without the manager wasn’t easy.
“Now I’m back and I’m really happy. We want to go to the next round and for tomorrow I hope to feel an amazing atmosphere in our stadium. Our fans give us a major boost and we’re playing against the team that won the league in Italy last season.”
