Suspended Juventus head coach Antonio Conte has broken his silence in a webchat with fans, revealing he is desperate to return to the Bianconeri bench.

In August Conte was handed a 10-month ban for allegedly failing to report two incidents of match-fixing while in charge of Siena, a decision that saw him barred from the touchline and denied the chance to deal with the press.

The 44-year-old has been restricted to training the reigning Serie A champions during the week, with technical director Massimo Carrera and assistant manager Angelo Alessio taking charge on matchdays, but Conte will return on December 9 after having his ban reduced by six months on appeal.

Conte made a perfect start as Juventus boss, leading the Turin giants to a first Scudetto since 2003 and a long-awaited return to the Champions League, with his team also going through an entire season unbeaten in the league.

That impressive run was ended by Inter last week, with Conte more eager than ever to return to the touchline and consolidate Juve’s lead at the top.

In a webchat with fans, quoted on Gazzetta.it, he said: “I miss it very much. My training workload has tripled in the last three months because I used to be able to issue instructions during matches. Now that is impossible.

“But I have been lucky to have good people working with me, as well as a responsible bunch of players.

“I really liked (Leonardo) Bonucci’s definition – ‘we are not soldiers, we are professionals’.

“I’ve managed to stay in the players’ heads and that’s been helpful.

“But I really miss being able to take my place on the bench, not being near the grass, my players, the opposition, the fans, or anybody else.”