Antonio Conte will again be absent when Tottenham visit Wolves this weekend but will return to work on Sunday. Spurs head to Molineux following Wednesday’s frustrating 1-0 defeat at Sheffield United in the FA Cup, which looks set to extend the club’s trophy long drought.
Assistant Cristian Stellini had revealed after last week’s win over Chelsea that Conte would return “this week” but the Italian will miss one more match before he can return following surgery to remove his gallbladder on February 1. “I said he would come back this week and straight after match against Wolves he will be in London and will be in charge again from Sunday,” Stellini revealed before he was asked why the Spurs manager could not return a day earlier. “This is a question for the medical department because they decide the time schedule was one month. “One month after the surgery stop is Saturday and they ask Antonio to come back Sunday so this is a question for the medical department.” Conte’s absence will only worsen the low morale of Tottenham’s fanbase following another missed opportunity in midweek.
Although Spurs still have the Champions League to play for this season, it seems likely their wait for another trophy will go into a 16th year.
Tottenham remain in control of a top-four finish and while Stellini believes that would be regarded as success this term, he understands the frustration of the supporters. “Yes,” Stellini insisted when asked if a top-four finish would represent a successful season. “You have to believe in that.