ANTONIO CONTE has returned to Tottenham training ahead of his side’s clash with Leicester on Saturday.
The 53-year-old flew back to Italy last week for gallbladder surgery after complaining of abdominal pain.
He was subsequently forced to miss Spurs’ 1-0 win over Manchester City on Sunday.
But he still took the time to call Harry Kane after his winning goal saw the England captain break the club’s all-time goalscoring record.
Now Tottenham have revealed Conte is back training the team, announcing the news by posting a picture on social media on Thursday.
The Lilywhites’ official account added the caption: “Welcome back, Boss 💙”.
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A decision is set to be made on Friday as to whether Conte will be in the dugout for the trip to the King Power Stadium.
Conte spent the weekend recovering in Turin but still updated the fans through his pre-match programme notes ahead of the City game.
He said: “I want to say thank you for the love, support and well wishes from everyone following the operation to remove my gallbladder earlier this week.
“The procedure went well, I am recovering and looking forward to being back with the team as soon as I’m able to do so.”
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If Conte is not deemed healthy enough to be at the Leicester game, his assistant Cristian Stellini will take charge once more.
After Conte took time out for surgery, Stellini said: “We are upset. It was Antonio who called me and explained the situation. Last week he had a problem that we thought was flu, not a problem like this.
“When he discovered this, it was a surprise and he was so sad, but we have to keep going and work. We had time to speak to Antonio before the surgery about the way to prepare for the [City] game.
“Then we lost him for 12 hours, the time for him to have the surgery. The surgery was not difficult and it’s important he recovers well – this is the most important thing.”
Spurs will be without club captain Hugo Lloris for the clash with Leicester and could miss him for up to eight weeks after he was ruled out with a knee injury.
Back-up shot-stopper Fraser Forster is expected to deputise in his absence.
Tottenham have also been linked with an emergency move for retired keeper Ben Foster.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
