by Antonio Conte is expected to be back in the dugout for Tottenham’s trip to Leicester, having returned to work at the training ground on Thursday.
Conte underwent surgery to remove his gallbladder in his native Italy last week after suffering with severe abdominal pain.
The 53-year-old was at Hotspur Way to oversee Thursday’s training session, though Spurs assistant Cristian Stellini still stood in for his pre-match press conference.
Stellini took temporary charge for Sunday’s 1-0 win over Manchester City and said: ‘Antonio is back. This morning he was on the pitch with us.
‘He has to take it easy for a bit. We were so happy to meet him again on the training ground. He spent time hugging everyone.
‘We didn’t speak about what he would do in the next match, but he is back and we are happy for that. We have time to arrive in the game happy.’
Conte will decide on Friday whether he feels up to travelling to Leicester, though he is understood to be keen to return to the touchline.
Tottenham will be without their club captain Hugo Lloris, however, with the 36-year-old goalkeeper set to miss the next six weeks due to knee ligament damage sustained during the victory over City.
‘We are all disappointed about Hugo and his injury,’ Stellini said. ‘However, we have a good goalkeeper [in] Fraser Forster with great experience in the Premier League and Champions League.’
Mistakes have crept into Lloris’s game this season and Stellini suggested he can use this time to come back fresh.
‘It is always better to have Hugo with us,’ Tottenham’s assistant said. ‘All the keepers make some mistakes sometimes. He could use this time to recover mentally.’
