Antonio Conte is “very close” to a Tottenham return but will not be involved in the clash with Chelsea.

Tottenham manager Antonio Conte is “very close” to a full return to work but will not attend Sunday’s match against former club Chelsea.

Conte stays Italy has been recovering from gall bladder surgery after doctors told him to rest again last week, rushing back to Spurs first-team duties after featuring in their defeat Leicester and Milan.

Assistant Christian Stellini led the team to victory last weekend West Ham and kept in regular contact with Conte, who watched training sessions and called his long-time coach several times a day.

Although workaholic Conte pushed him to return to action earlier than previously planned, he is expected to miss Sunday’s visit of the club he won two trophies with.

“We don’t know yet, but I feel like he’s very close to coming back,” Stellini said.

“No, I don’t think so (for Chelsea). It’s not a moment, but it’s very close because I can feel its energy too. We get calls three times a day, also in the evenings, so I absolutely feel that Antonio is here.

“We talk a lot and if you compare when Antonio had the operation three weeks ago and now, it’s completely different. He is fully involved. We give him our feeling, it’s the feeling we have on the players.

“He can also watch the training, so the energy is back at 100 percent.

“I’m looking forward to him coming back and when he does, I think Antonio’s impact will be incredible.”

Spurs lost all four of their meetings with Chelsea last season, including three meetings last January when the Blues won 3-0 on aggregate over the two legs Carabao Cup semi-final.

With another 12 months to go, Tottenham can move 14 points clear of their London rivals with a win this weekend, but Stellini is keen to play down talk of where they could be at this time next year.

“We have the same number of points as last season and we finished fourth. We can do it this season too, but we need to feel confident about it,” he insisted.

“Title contender is not a description we like because to be a title contender you have to show on the schedule that you are a title contender.

“We need the facts to be a contender for the title. Anyone can talk about it, but you have to show it and stay there.

“We are happy because if we compare our team to last January, we are better now, but we have to keep working and improving. We struggled too much with Chelsea last season and we hope that can change this season.”

Stellini has continued to impress in Conte’s absence and has now won three games in charge of Tottenham after achieving the same number of victories when he was his deputy boss at Inter Milan.

The one-time Alessandria manager added: “I really enjoy being a manager, but when you make a decision you have to do your best.

“Sometimes I think of being a coach as a dream. But I’m an assistant and that’s the reality.

“I like being a helper. I feel I’m good enough at this job to continue.”