Tottenham boss Antonio Conte has opened up about his recent absence due to gallbladder surgery.

Conte had to miss a couple of Spurs games as a result of undergoing the procedure in Italy.

However, he is now back and healthy, and will lead out his team in the Champions League against AC Milan in midweek.

Asked during a press conference about his absence, he stated: “For sure, it was really difficult to stay far from the team. Because you have a sense of responsibility that you want to stay every moment with your players, to breathe the environment in every situation.

“But this problem happened and now I'm feeling much better than before. I'm not still 100 per cent but I think I'm recovering well, it's very important for me to stay with the team, work with them and try to stay together in a difficult moment for us.

“Because in the last period we were not so lucky, because three surgeries - me and two surgery for the players. In the last seven days we had four serious injuries.

“For this season I think to stay together is very important and try in this type of situation to create the right spirit, to help each other much more than before to work together and overcome this difficult period.