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.
Brazil legend Marta to retire from international football
Brazil star Marta has announced she will retire from international football at the end of 2024.
The 38-year-old is the all-time highest scorer for Brazil, netting 116 goals in 175 matches for the national team.
She is also the top-scorer in the Women’s World Cup with 17 goals, finishing as a runner-up in 2007 when Brazil lost in the final to Germany.
The forward has won three Copa America Femenina titles and was part of the Brazil team that won silver medals at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.
Marta could make her sixth appearance for Brazil at this year's Games if she is selected in the squad at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
"If I go to the Olympics, I will enjoy every moment, because, regardless of whether I go to the Olympics or not, this is my last year with the national team," Marta told CNN in an interview on Thursday.
"There will be no more Marta from 2025 in the national team as an athlete.
"I am very calm about this because I see with great optimism this development that we are having in relation to young athletes."
Al Hilal 3-1 Al Fateh: Neves on target as Saudi giants close in on title
Al Hilal moved 12 points clear of Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr at the top of the Saudi Pro League as Ruben Neves scored in a 3-1 win over Al Fateh on Friday.
Former Wolves star Neves slotted in from the penalty spot in the 74th minute, as Al Hilal completed a rapid comeback.
Having fallen behind to Lucas Zelarayan's 57th-minute opener, Al Hilal responded swiftly through Micheal before Salem Al Najdi fouled Mohammed Al Qahtani in the penalty area.
Ex-Barcelona winger Cristian Trello and Al Fateh coach Slaven Bilic were booked for their complaints, with Neves making no mistake, paving the way for Ali Al Bulayhi to seal victory in the 15th minute of an extended period of stoppage time.
Data Debrief
Al Hilal have now won 21 games on the spin in the league. They have scored 86 goals across their 28 matches this season, winning 26 in total.
They had 19 shots on Friday, accumulating 2.34 xG to Al Fateh's 0.25, with pass-master Neves creating three chances to go along with his goal.
RFEF elects Rocha as new president
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has confirmed Pedro Rocha as its new president.
Rocha has been elected as Luis Rubiales' replacement, despite being under investigation for corruption.
He had been serving as interim president since Rubiales resigned in September over the scandal caused when he kissed player Jenni Hermoso following Spain's Women's World Cup triumph in August.
In a statement released on Friday, the RFEF said: "Pedro Rocha has today been proclaimed the new president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), after having received the support of the majority of the assembly members of this institution that governs Spanish football.
"The process followed the procedure agreed by the Electoral Commission, which met this morning, and the timetable that was established for these elections."
Rocha has been under investigation since earlier in April, after the RFEF's headquarters was raided by police last month. The Spanish government announced on Thursday that it would be stepping in to oversee the running of the organisation.
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