Antonio Conte could be on the Tottenham bench for Sunday's Premier League game against Manchester City, just four days after having his gallbladder removed.
That possibility was revealed by his assistant coach, Cristian Stellini, who would take the reins if Conte has to wait for his return to work.
Stellini held the fort at Friday's pre-match press conference, and there is a strong chance of him remaining in charge for the home clash with title-chasing City.
Yet Conte said within hours of the operation that he was "already feeling better", and that improvement has continued according to his second-in-command.
Stellini said: "We don't know yet when Antonio is coming back. Everything is possible. The surgery was good and he's recovering well.
"At the moment he's at home. We have two days before the game and everything can happen."
Asked whether Conte could therefore be involved on Sunday, Stellini said: "We don't know yet. The decision will be made tomorrow. We are ready to do everything.
"Probably a doctor that did the surgery, they have to decide for him. We have 48 hours from today to decide, so we have time."
Conte was experiencing severe pain which necessitated the surgery, and usually a patient will need a longer recovery than four days after such an operation.
The UK's National Health Service suggests a patient will usually require two weeks of recovery before returning to a desk job, and longer for manual work.
Given Conte is usually an animated figure on the Tottenham touchline, his role seemingly falls into the latter category, and Stellini said it would be important for his fellow Italian to be prudent once he does come back.
"I think no one here can keep Antonio calm. He knows that to have a surgery and a surprise like he had, it's not easy," Stellini said.
"He's an intelligent man, so he knows what's happened to him. It's not the worst surgery you can have, but it's a surgery. You have to be careful and Antonio has to do it."
Stellini said Conte's staff, including first-team coach Ryan Mason, were ready to carry out his usual duties.
"Antonio sends me a message and he trusts us completely, one hundred per cent trust in the staff," Stellini said. "We are focused more than normal because we have to do what Antonio normally does, and Antonio is happy about our job."
He said Conte had been "so sad" about the prospect of having to have surgery, and it comes at a time when fifth-placed Tottenham do not want to risk becoming cut off from the top four.
They trail Newcastle United and Manchester United by three points, having played one game more than both, raising the stakes for a rematch with City, a fortnight after Spurs squandered a 2-0 half-time lead and lost 4-2 to the same opposition at the Etihad Stadium.
Stellini said Tottenham are "scared, in the right way" about the game, expressing optimism the outcome can be different this time, with Richarlison fit to play and new recruit Pedro Porro in line for a possible debut.
"This is the game you are waiting for, and you want to play every time this type of game," Stellini said.
"The players are excited. I feel the players are so focused on this match. For sure, we have to be worried in the right way, speaking about not only [Erling] Haaland but all the team they have.
"It's a great team, maybe it's the greatest team in the world, and they fight every time to win a trophy.
"So we are scared, in the right way. We respect them, but we think we can repeat the same first half we had in the last game and we can do it for 90 minutes."
Bayern Munich always favourites against Borussia Dortmund, claims Goretzka
Bayern Munich will always be favourites to beat Borussia Dortmund, with Leon Goretzka suggesting no team can face Die Roten at Allianz Arena and have the upper hand.
The two teams meet in their first game back from the international break in what could be the most decisive encounter of the Bundesliga title race this season.
Dortmund hold a one-point lead over their rivals, who dismissed coach Julian Nagelsmann and replaced him with former Black and Yellow boss Thomas Tuchel last week.
Speaking ahead of the crunch clash though, Goretzka insisted the visitors' advantage in the league table means nothing when they go to Allianz Arena, given the hosts' pedigree.
"We are ready," he told SportBILD. "We want the 11th championship in a row. To quote Kylian Mbappe, we are always favourites.
"When we play at home, there isn't a team we don't go into the game against as favourites. I think [the pressure] is great.
"I really enjoy these games. As a player, you don't want to be part of the team that can break this series [and miss out on another title win]."
Nagelsmann's departure, despite guiding Bayern to the title last term and the Champions League quarter-finals this year, is a gamble for the Bavarian giants.
But in Tuchel, they have a former Champions League-winning coach from his time at Chelsea, and Goretzka hopes he can help retain their Bundesliga crown.
"We all know and appreciate his successes," he added. "[We] have great respect for his achievements and experience."
Luis Enrique keen on Premier League job but Spurs move unlikely
Former Spain and Barcelona coach Luis Enrique wants to work in England but has seemingly ruled out replacing Antonio Conte at Tottenham.
Luis Enrique parted ways with Spain after the 2022 World Cup, which saw La Roja knocked out by Morocco at the last-16 stage.
He was replaced by Luis de la Fuente, who stepped up from the Under-21s, leaving Luis Enrique back on the market.
Links to high-profile jobs have been frequent ever since, but the club he appears to have been associated with the most is Spurs, who dismissed Conte on Sunday after a week of intense speculation suggesting his time was over.
While Luis Enrique was not directly asked about Spurs during his first major interview of the year, he did express a desire to work in the Premier League.
But the fact he does not expect to be working in England even as early as July suggests the Spurs job would be a non-starter.
"I would like to go to England to work," he told Radio SER Gijon.
"But I don't see myself in the Premier League in July because I would like to go to a team there that can do important things, and that is very difficult.
"I would not go to [just] any Premier League team."
The 52-year-old has also been among the big names linked with the Brazil job, which Tite vacated following the Selecao's unsuccessful Qatar 2022 campaign.
Luis Enrique confirmed he has received offers from national teams – Brazil not being one of them – but he seems less interested in returning to the international stage.
"I don't see myself coaching Brazil," he continued. "Another coach profile fits in there better than mine.
"They haven't called me. I don't know if my style fits the best with Brazil.
"I have had offers from national teams, but not from clubs. It would have to be a very important [national] team to take it, although it would be very difficult for me to face Spain. I don't know if I would be ready."
De Ligt: Nagelsmann sacking 'hard to swallow'
Bayern Munich defender Matthijs de Ligt was surprised by the club's decision to part company with head coach Julian Nagelsmann and says it has been "hard to swallow".
German heavyweights Bayern officially called time on Nagelsmann's 20-month reign on Friday and swiftly appointed Thomas Tuchel as his successor.
Nagelsmann won the Bundesliga in his only full season in Bavaria, but Bayern find themselves a point behind Borussia Dortmund with 25 games of this campaign played.
Bayern face leaders Dortmund in a huge clash on Saturday, while they also have DFB-Pokal and Champions League quarter-final ties to play in April.
And with the club still in the hunt for a treble, De Ligt – who has been away on international duty with the Netherlands – did not see Nagelsmann's sacking coming.
"I was surprised," he told Dutch TV broadcaster NOS. "We're second in the league and in the quarter-finals of the cups. We're still playing for everything.
"Those in charge decide who the coach is, but it was a difficult decision that is hard to swallow. But I also believe that Tuchel is a coach who suits us."
According to a report in the German media, certain Bayern players turned against Nagelsmann and effectively forced him out of the Allianz Arena.
But De Ligt, who has played 31 times since arriving at Bayern from Juventus at the start of the season, refuted those suggestions.
"Oh, the German media. That says it all," he said. "I had a good relationship with him and his team.
"I sent him a message and thanked him for everything he taught me.
"He really wanted me here at the club and was very important to me.
"Thanks in part to him, I have taken important steps in my development over the past few months."
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