Conte admits he underestimated the physical impact of his gallbladder surgery
Tottenham manager Antonio Conte says his gallbladder surgery did not change his mind about his future at the club.
returned to work just eight days after surgery to remove his gallbladder on February 1, but he was forced to stay away from his work after doctors asked him to stay in Italy and undergo a full recovery.
The Italian returned to work on Monday and will be on the bench for Wednesday's Champions League last-16 second leg against
Milan.In his press conference on Tuesday, Conte admitted that he underestimated the time he would need to recover from surgery.
"For sure, I under-evaluated the recovery after surgery,"
he said.
"I think that for my sense of responsibility I wanted to come back early. Maybe I over-evaluated my body and myself.
"Now I'm well and I've recovered energy and I have to recover weight but for the rest my feeling is good. I will try to transfer my energy to my players. It's important for me to work with my players and the staff and prepare for the games.
"From afar I tried to stay very close with my players using video. To be present is totally different and for this reason I have to say thanks to my whole staff. They did a really good job and the players to stay for three weeks without the manager wasn't easy, but now I'm back and I'm really happy.”
lost with one goal in the first leg in Milan, and Conte said it is normal that his team is feeling the pressure ahead of the game.
Conte added:
”We live for these moments [like playing Milan], because when the pressure is going up, it means your level is going up. Don't forget, last season we played in the Europa Conference League and this year it's the Champions League.
"The pressure is normal, we have to live with this type of pressure. Maybe if there is one thing we have to try to improve the environment here, it's to live with the pressure. Sometimes that means to be a bit stressed, not always to be in peace, but to channel it in a positive way.”
Conte’s contract will expire at the end of the season, and reports suggest that both parties still are not close to an agreement. Former Inter manager said his recent absence from work did not change his mind about his future at the club
"It hasn't changed my mind,"
he said.
"This type of situation can happen and I discovered after the surgery that many of my friends had the same surgery.
"This was emergency surgery, not planned, and that's very different. At first there was a lot of sad news, but when they told me that I had only surgery for this reason I was happy, because you never know what could happen.”
Tottenham star Son Heung-min also admitted that they felt Conte’s absence on the touchline.
He said:
"It's important. I'm glad that the manager is sitting next to me. He brings good energy to the team. When the boss isn't here it's different. Yesterday we could feel that energy and his passion on the touchline we'll feel more comfortable.
"We don't want the fans to be disappointed. It was painful last week to get out of the FA Cup. To be a good season we have to do the best things we can at the moment. We're still in the Champions League and fighting for the top four. We have to go for these things otherwise it's going to be poor and very sad."
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