Cristian Stellini admitted that he feels guilty that he was not more persistent in asking Antonio Conte to rest when the 53-year-old rushed back to London too soon following the operation to remove his gallbladder.
It was announced following Tottenham’s clash at the San Siro that Conte will continue his recovery in his family home in Italy.
The Spurs head coach took to Instagram a couple of days ago to state that he had ‘underestimated’ the procedure and that his body had ‘suffered’ from his decision to return to the club too quickly.
The Telegraph have explained that there is no fixed timeline for Conte’s return as of yet but Tottenham remain hopeful that he will recover in time to be on the sidelines for the Lilywhites’ second leg against Milan on March 8.
Stellini has now explained Conte wants to be back at Tottenham as soon as possible but added that it is up to those close to the Italian to force him to rest until he recovers fully.
Spurs’ assistant first-team coach told Football.London: “Antonio feels the same every moment, every day. It is not because it’s Chelsea next [after Sunday’s game against West Ham] but he wants to come back Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday but he has taken an important decision with the club.
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“When Antonio is 100 per cent he will come back and not one day before. We made a mistake before and we don’t want to repeat this. We have to hope this time arrives as soon as possible.
“It could be before Chelsea or after Chelsea. We have to accept that and Antonio needs to accept that. People around Antonio like our doctor, the doctor that did the surgery, his wife and his family, are there to force him.
“After the Milan game, I felt sad because maybe I didn’t push enough to make this decision before. I felt responsible because Antonio’s pain continued under stress. I don’t want to feel like this again. I push him to come back when he’s 100 per cent.”
Stellini added that he will be in constant touch with Conte regarding the preparations for Tottenham’s upcoming matches, explaining that the Spurs head coach will be involved in every single decision.
He said: “It’s not like last time when we had Antonio in bed to rest immediately after the surgery, it’s a different time, Antonio is involved 100%.
“Probably we have some communication with him better than the last time. I don’t know what type of communication, we didn’t speak about this. I think his energy is totally different.
“My phone is on 24 hours a day. He can call me when he wants. Also during the night. I will answer and talk with him about football and about our team in every moment. When we have an idea, we have a chat together. Always about football.”
When asked about the pressure on him over the next couple of weeks, Stellini suggested that his relationship with the players makes the job easier.
The 48-year-old remarked: “Yeah, it’s a big responsibility and I feel this but it’s not the first day I am here, it’s not the first day that I stay with the players and take responsibility.
“When I see the players and the team during the training, I feel we are capable of winning every game and progressing in the Champions League, to win the next game, to win the game after in the FA Cup.
“I think we can do it. We have a good squad and without Antonio, they show to us they take much more responsibility in this way. I sleep well. I have the team and I follow the team every day and this gives to me the feeling to be confident.”
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The fact that Conte rushed back to Spurs too quickly after having major surgery and pushed through the pain to be involved in the clashes against Leicester and Milan, shows the 53-year-old’s commitment to the cause.
As Stellini points out, the Tottenham head coach will once again be desperate to return as soon as possible and it is up to the club and those close to him to insist that he stay in Italy until he is 100 per cent.
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