Francesco Guidolin will remain in hospital this weekend as Swansea City continue under the care of assistant coach Alan Curtis.
The club confirmed that their 60-year-old Italian boss is still in London undergoing tests on the lung infection that forced him to miss the midweek victory at Arsenal.
Curtis will take charge of the team that play Norwich City at the Liberty Stadium tomorrow, although Guidolin will pick the line-up.
It was Curtis who took today’s press conference where he confirmed: “Francesco will stay in hospital over the weekend and may be out on Monday. He’s in the best place.
“It’s probably a bit more complicated than we first thought, but it’s not serious. He’s had tests and I think he’s on a drip. I spoke to him on Wednesday and he sounded brighter and stronger.
“He’s on medication and it’s just taking a little longer than we thought. If he comes out on Monday, he’ll probably recuperate at home and be ready for next weekend.”
Guidolin’s absence in midweek was more of motivating factor than a negative as the Swans beat the Gunners 2-1 to open up a six-point gap over the clubs below them.
That could be extended to nine points tomorrow if they beat a Norwich side that have lost eight times in their last nine matches, and other results go in their favour, but Curtis insists even then there will be no premature celebrations.
“Psychologically, getting to the 30-point mark is a boost and there’s been a buzz in training. You can sense an uplift in spirit in the camp, but the test will be tomorrow.
“There’s no point in getting a fantastic result at the Emirates and letting ourselves down tomorrow. These next three games will always be the defining ones.
“We’ll aim for 40 points. I don’t think it will need that, but perhaps 38, 39, and if we get that that will be our target. Even winning tomorrow, it will give us breathing space but there is still a lot of work to do.
“We’ve got 30 points and survival will be perhaps another three wins. We know how difficult it is to win in this league, though, and the players are aware.
“The Arsenal result was a reminder of how we have underperformed this year. The way we played against Arsenal shows what we are capable of and we haven’t done that often enough. There’s a lot of work to be done but the next three games can go a long way in deciding where we finish.”
Curtis will pick from a fully fit squad with Ki Sung-yueng and Leroy Fer – who could face his former club – both having recovered from injuries picked up on Wednesday.
