Antonio Conte on his absence: “It was the first time and, I hope, the last”
Tue 07 March 2023, 15:15|
Tottenham Hotspur
Antonio Conte is back and ‘feeling well’ and has given us an insight into his time away from the players as he recovered from surgery.
Head Coach Antonio required surgery to remove his gallbladder on 1 February. He returned for our Premier League trip to Leicester City on 11 February and travelled to Milan for the first leg of our UEFA Champions League Round of 16 clash, but remained in Italy to recover fully. He returned to Hotspur Way on Sunday.
“I’m feeling well,” he told SPURSPLAY on Tuesday. “It was difficult to stay far from Tottenham, the environment, the players and staff, but I tried to stay very close with the staff before and after training, to feel that sensation from the staff about the players. Also, to video with the players.
“But it was not an easy period. It was the first time and, I hope, the last. It was really hard to watch the game, to stay far away. To be present, for a coach, is very important.
“It was difficult not to think about football, for me, anyway. I watched with my wife and daughter, I tried also to stay linked to my brother for every situation during the games, but it was a strange experience. It happened in the past that I was in the crowd because I was banned, but to stay far away, to stay at home and watch your team play an important game, it was really, really difficult.”
Speaking in his pre-Milan press conference, Antonio added: “Yesterday (Monday) was positive and my feeling was really, really good. You know the importance for me to work with my players, to stay together and work with the staff and prepare for the game. Now I am back, I’m really happy and we have an important game. It’s a vital game for us because want to go to the next round.”
