Roberto Mancini will miss Leicester's FA Cup clash with Bristol City amid speculation that he is being lined up to take over as coach of Fiorentina.
Leicester have given Mancini permission to remain in Italy for the weekend and he is ruled out of the fifth-round tie.
Publicly Mancini says he is back in his native country "to sort out family problems" and that he is "looking forward" to playing for Leicester again.
Mancini signed a short-term contract with Leicester until the end of the season,
But reports and sources in Italy suggest that Mancini is being lined up to replace Fiorentina's Turkish coach Fatih Terim.
Terim joined Fiorentina after steering Galatasaray to last season's Uefa Cup final triumph over Arsenal.
But the indications are that he will not be renewing his one-year contract, and Mancini is being lined up take over next season.
It remains to be seen whether he has played his last game for Leicester and he will hold talks next week with Foxes manager Peter Taylor.
A Leicester spokesman confirmed: "Roberto has kept us fully informed of his situation and is staying in Italy for some extra time. We plan to talk to him early next week."
Mancini added: "I am in Italy to try and sort out family problems. I hope I can and I look forward to playing for Leicester again."
Mancini has made four starts for Leicester but was only on the bench for last Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Everton.