Tottenham manager Antonio Conte will have surgery to remove his gallbladder on Wednesday, with his return to the dugout unconfirmed.
The 53-year-old was diagnosed with cholecystitis, an inflammation of the gallbladder, after becoming "unwell with severe abdominal pain".
A Tottenham statement read: "Antonio Conte recently became unwell with severe abdominal pain.
"Following a diagnosis of cholecystitis, he will be undergoing surgery to remove his gallbladder today and will return following a period of recuperation. Everyone at the Club wishes him well."
Antonio Conte recently became unwell with severe abdominal pain.Following a diagnosis of cholecystitis, he will be undergoing surgery to remove his gallbladder today and will return following a period of recuperation.Everyone at the Club wishes him well 💙 pic.twitter.com/h91LfV8lD9February 1, 2023
Spurs are due to host Manchester City in their next Premier League game on Sunday, with a trip to Leicester City next weekend followed by their Champions League first-leg tie against AC Milan in Italy.
However, Tottenham haven't confirmed whether Conte will be taking charge for any of the upcoming games, calling into question who will manage Tottenham while Antonio Conte recovers from surgery.
The logical replacement for Conte seems his assistant manager, Christian Stellini. The Italian first started working with Conte at Juventus for the 2011/12 season, but the Italian Football Federation suspended him for two-and-a-half years at the end of the campaign due to allegations of match fixing.
Stellini returned to coaching in 2015, joining Genoa's youth academy. In 2017, Serie C side Alessandria appointed him their manager, but he lasted less than six months in the job due to poor results.
He later joined up with Conte at Inter Milan ahead of the 2019/20 season, and was worked with him ever since at the Italian club, before following him to Tottenham.
There are others who could oversee the first team while Conte recovers, though.
Ryan Mason, the first team coach, has experience of managing Spurs on a temporary basis, after taking over from Jose Mourinho at the end of the 2020/21 season. The then-29-year-old oversaw seven games in charge, including an EFL Cup final against Manchester City which Spurs lost, winning four and losing three.
Tottenham are currently fifth in the Premier League on 36 points, three points off of Manchester United in fourth place having played a game extra. Their rivals, Arsenal, are currently 14 points ahead of them at the top of the table.
