Tottenham's stand-in boss Cristian Stellini said Antonio Conte feels he underestimated the seriousness of his gallbladder surgery.
Conte had the organ removed at the start of February after experiencing severe abdominal pain and took a short break from Spurs to begin his recovery.
The Italian returned to duties on the training pitch last week before the 4-1 defeat to Leicester City in the Premier League and then oversaw a Champions League defeat to Milan at San Siro.
However, Conte has since had his recovery progress checked out, and it was decided he will need more time away from frontline work.
Stellini will take charge for Sunday's home clash with West Ham, and asked if Conte might need an extended break, he told reporters: "Health is more important than football and this is the reason why the club, Antonio and the doctors decide to take this responsibility and leave Antonio in Italy after the last game.
"We don't know the time. He needs to rest. The doctor thinks about the timing and they have an idea but it is really a feeling from Antonio.
"[The doctor] explained very well that surgery was not an easy surgery. It was an emergency surgery. The inflammation was big and maybe they underestimated this situation. He needs time to be 100 per cent and Antonio not at 100 per cent is not Antonio.
"That creates stress and overstress and this is dangerous after a surgery like that.
"We have a call every day, many times in a day, probably three times per day, but he wants to come back."
Quizzed on the level of authority he has while in temporary charge, Stellini replied: "I have the same authority before he came back but since the moment he came back, Antonio's feeling was that maybe he underestimated the procedure after the surgery.
"Coming close to the [Leicester] game, the stress, the tension he had before the game created some problems. When they checked with the doctor, with the club, they spoke for a long time about this and the decision was this.
"He needs to take it easy again. He will come back soon."
On the pitch, Stellini – who oversaw a 1-0 win over Manchester City earlier this month – is looking for a reaction after the successive defeats.
"I want to see the reaction from the start," he said. "The first minute will be very important for us because we have to show the desire to play the best game we can."
Spurs were dealt another blow this week, with midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur ruled out for the rest of the season due to an ACL injury.
Real Madrid agree deal to sign England’s Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund
Jude Bellingham is closing in on a move to Real Madrid after the Spanish side struck a deal with Borussia Dortmund worth an initial £88.5million.
The 19-year-old moved to Germany from boyhood club Birmingham in 2020 and has long dreamt of moving to the LaLiga giants.
England star Bellingham is now on the cusp of completing his move to Madrid.
Dortmund confirmed in a statement that the Spanish side have agreed to pay 103m euros (£88.5m), with an additional amount of around 30 per cent of that fixed fee agreed.
If those add-ons are achieved, the deal could reach 133.9m euros (£115m).
Inter Miami reportedly leading the race to sign Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi is reportedly set to join Major League Soccer side Inter Miami with Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal understood to be out of the race.
The 35-year-old Argentina star had been strongly linked with a move to Saudi Arabia, a league which already features Cristiano Ronaldo and now Karim Benzema, with Messi’s two-year contract at Paris St Germain coming to an end this month.
However, the PA news agency understands a move to the Middle East is now no longer on the cards, placing Inter Miami in pole position for Messi.
The Major League Soccer side are co-owned by former England captain David Beckham and were founded in 2018, playing their first season two years later.
Miami recently sacked Beckham’s former Manchester United and England team-mate Phil Neville as coach and are currently bottom of the 15-team Eastern Conference, but they remain a fiercely ambitious club.
The PA news agency understands the Florida side have pulled out all the stops to sign Messi, tying up with various MLS partners like Apple.
A deal in principle has now reportedly been agreed that will see Messi head to the United States after PSG confirmed last week he would be leaving.
Adam Idah relishing competition at club and country as he eyes Ireland impact
Adam Idah will head into Euro 2024 qualifier battle with Greece and Gibraltar grateful for both the help and competition provided by two strikers at opposite ends of their careers.
The 22-year-old Republic of Ireland frontman has spent much of the last four seasons fighting Teemu Pukki for a place in the Norwich starting line-up, and now faces a major challenge from Brighton’s teenage sensation Evan Ferguson on the international front.
However Idah, who made his Canaries debut as an 18-year-old and won his first senior cap for Ireland a little more than a year later, has not been daunted by either battle.
Asked about Pukki’s influence on his fledgling career as the 33-year-old Finland international prepares to leave Norwich this summer, he said: “Teemu was massive to me since I came in.
“When I first came to Norwich I wasn’t playing many games, and I was really frustrated, but he helped me through that.
“Looking back now, it was stupid of me to be frustrated as he was scoring all these goals, but even off the pitch he helped me, (showing me) what to do outside of football.
“On the pitch, he was fantastic. He’s a great player to look up to with all the goals he has scored in championships and the Premier League. He is a great professional.”
Pukki’s impending exit after scoring 88 goals in 210 appearances over his five years at Carrow Road presents Idah with an opportunity next season, with boss David Wagner needing to plug a sizeable gap, and it is one he is determined to take.
He said: “Every new season is a big opportunity for me. Obviously it was difficult – when he was at Norwich, he was the main man and next season is going to be a big one for me to try to get myself in the team.
“But I think me and the manager know it’s going to be a good opportunity for me to try to become the main striker at Norwich. I just have to be the best I can to get in.”
In the meantime, Idah’s task is to force his way into Stephen Kenny’s team for the trip to Athens on June 16 and Gibraltar’s visit to Dublin three days later, a process which has become more difficult as a result of Ferguson’s breakthrough season in the Premier League.
The 18-year-old made 19 league appearances and scored six goals as the Seagulls secured European football for the first time in the club’s history, and also opened his senior international account – something Idah is yet to do – in March’s 3-2 friendly win over Latvia.
Speaking from Ireland’s warm-weather training camp in Antalya, Turkey, Idah said: “He’s had an unbelievable season at Brighton. In every team, you need some friendly competition for all of us.
“There’s not just Evan, there’s five of us forwards all chasing for the same spot and I think we’re all doing everything in the right way. We help each other achieve in the right way to the best we can.
“Whoever starts in any game, I think we all support each other and try to do the best we can. That’s what so good about this team – there’s no ego in this team and we all try to help each other.”
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