Minnesota Timberwolves president of basketball operations and head coach Flip Saunders will be taking an indefinite leave of absence from his duties with the team after he was hospitalized for testing and treatment following a setback in his battle with cancer, the Associated Press reports.

The Timberwolves confirmed Friday that assistant coach will be moved into an interim coaching position, while general manager Milt Newton will be tasked with some of Saunders' duties as president of basketball operations. Saunders was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma this past summer.

"Our first priority is making sure Flip regains his strength and is back to 100 percent before he is back to work," Timberwolves chief executive Rob Moor said, emphasizing the organization's desire to give the Saunders family privacy.

"And while there is no timetable for Flip's return, we believe it will be measured in months, and not weeks. To attempt to place a timeline on things at this time would be unfair to the due process of recovery. We have complete confidence in the abilities of Milt and Sam. Flip handpicked these two professional gentlemen exactly for this reason."

As noted by the AP, the NBA training camp starts on Sept. 28, with the season opening a month later.

"We are fully committed to Flip's long-term health and look forward to him returning to his Timberwolves responsibilities at the appropriate time," the Saunders family statement read.

The AP also notes that Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor told team executives not to speak with Saunders for now.

"We've been in touch to be supportive, but you know Flip: He's going to want to talk about team stuff, so we have not spoken to him," Moor said.

After being diagnosed with cancer of the immune system back in June, Saunders officially announced his condition in August, and said that doctors were calling his prognosis "very treatable and curable."