Manager Antonio Conte has once again stepped away from Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. Whether or not he returns is anybody’s guess.
“Following a routine post-operation check in Italy yesterday (Wednesday), Antonio Conte will remain at his family home to further and fully recover from his recent gallbladder surgery,” Tottenham said Thursday in a brief statement, via The Athletic. “Health is the most important consideration and everyone at the Club wishes him well. (Assistant) Cristian Stellini will assume First Team responsibility.”
Tottenham announced on Feb. 1 that Conte required surgery to remove his gallbladder “following a diagnosis of cholecystitis.” As mentioned by James Olley of ESPN and Sky Sports, the Italian missed the club’s 1-0 win over Manchester City on Feb. 5 but was back at work for the 4-1 loss to Leicester City this past Saturday and for Tuesday’s 1-0 defeat at AC Milan in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League.
No timetable for Conte’s potential return was given.
“My great sense of responsibility towards the club, the players, the staff and the fans brought me to anticipate my comeback on field,” Conte said in a message he shared on Instagram. “Sadly, I underestimated the procedure, which wasn’t a routine operation, but a sudden and serious emergency. My body has suffered my impatience and now I am forced to stop until my entire recovery. Who knows me, understands what a burden this is for me, but it is necessary. Come on you Spurs!”
Conte has endured a brutal personal and professional stretch since the start of the 2022-23 season. Three close friends of his passed away over that time, and his wife and their daughter have continued to live in Italy.
The 53-year-old is out of contract at the end of the campaign and has repeatedly declined to commit his future to Tottenham, most recently after Tuesday’s result.
“I prefer to live in the present, I don’t want to think about the future, but you perfectly know that as an Italian man and the former Italy manager, Italy is in my heart and Italy will always stay there,” Conte said at that time, per Sky Sports. “I will never exclude the possibility that I will be back here one day, who knows?”
Conte took charge at Tottenham in November 2021 and was reportedly thrilled to learn following the end of last season that club owners ENIC would be injecting £150 million for “greater financial flexibility and the ability to further invest on and off the pitch.” However, Tottenham have fallen to fifth and out of the Champions League places in the Premier League table and now must erase the 1-0 deficit against AC Milan on March 8 to remain in Europe’s top club competition.
Tottenham host West Ham United without Conte for a Premier League match this Sunday and then welcome London rivals Chelsea on Feb. 26. Conte’s status and his Tottenham future beyond this weekend are up in the air.
