Tottenham can't seem to catch a break lately as the North London giants have been hit with another blow ahead of their interesting weekend showdown with West Ham.
Spurs head into this tie on the back of poor form, having lost their last two outings while suffering four defeats out of their last six matches.
Over the weekend, Harry Kane and Co. headed to Leicester but were handed a shocking 4-1 humbling, with James Maddison and Kelechi Iheanacho tearing the fifth-placed side apart.
A few days later, the focus shifted towards the UEFA Champions League as the English club headed to AC Milan for the 1st leg of their round of 16 affair. While their performance was better, Tottenham were beaten once again, this time suffering a 1-0 loss.
And with West Ham set to visit Spurs this Sunday, the North London side have been handed another concern. Head coach Antonio Conte, regarded as one of the best in the business, will be unavailable for this game as the tactician has remained in Italy.
The 53-year-old recently underwent surgery to remove his gallbladder and was away in Italy to recover. However, Conte traveled with the club for the trip to the San Siro and was in the dugout.
Tottenham have now announced that their boss will remain in Italy after undergoing a post-surgery check. Antonio will stay with his family in order to recover and thus did not accompany the team back from Milan.
Following a routine post-operation check in Italy yesterday, Antonio Conte will remain at his family home to recover from his recent surgery.
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) February 16, 2023
Health is the most important consideration and everyone at the Club wishes him well.
Cristian Stellini will assume First Team duties. pic.twitter.com/k9L4ZcpGhv
This means his assistant Cristian Stellini will take charge of the first team and will oversee the clash with West Ham. While he was the man in the dugout during the 1-0 win over Man City, he sparked criticism for some of his comments while on media duty following the Leicester defeat.
Additionally, no time frame was put on Conte's recovery and with his future being up in the air, Tottenham fans might have only a few games left with the highly-regarded coach.
