Surgery will sideline Calhoun at least two more games

Coach Jim Calhoun has battled various health issues during his UConn career but none will force him to miss more games than spinal stenosis.

UConn announced Wednesday that Calhoun will undergo a surgical procedure Monday to help alleviate the painful lower back condition, extending his medical leave of absence by more two games to eight overall.

He'll be sidelined for Saturday's game against No. 2 Syracuse in Storrs and Tuesday at Providence.

A medical leave for a stress-related illness led to Calhoun sitting out seven games from Jan. 20 to Feb. 10, 2010.

Following Monday's procedure, Calhoun, 69, is expected to be hospitalized for one or two days and then recover at his home in Pomfret. Then his coaching status will be evaluated on a day-to-day basis.

"I'm glad we have finally determined the best course of treatment to deal with the problem," Calhoun said in a released statement. "I'm looking forward to having the procedure done, hopefully recovering as quickly as possible, and putting it all in the past."

Associate head coach George Blaney will continue to run the team, working with assistant coaches Glen Miller, Kevin Ollie and Karl Hobbs, who's been elevated from director of basketball administration during Calhoun's absence.

The Huskies, who are 17-10 overall, 7-8 in the Big East, are fighting for an NCAA tournament berth.

Time is running out for Calhoun, a Hall of Fame coach, to return this season.

After playing Syracuse and Providence, UConn has just one regular-season game left, hosting Pittsburgh March 3 in Storrs. The Huskies play in the Big East tournament beginning March 6 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

If Calhoun returns for the Pittsburgh game, he'll have been sidelined for a total of 11 games this season. He sat out the first three Big East games while serving an NCAA suspension.

Prior to Saturday's game, Calhoun has missed 27 games during his UConn career since 1994 due to various reasons, including pneumonia symptoms (2), intestinal virus (1), prostrate cancer (5), dehydration (1), illness (1), stress-related medical leave (7), family funeral (1), NCAA suspension (3) and spinal stenosis (6). The Huskies are 14-13 without Calhoun.

When asked after Saturday's loss to Marquette if the Huskies think about the possibility that Calhoun might not return this season, sophomore Jeremy Lamb responded: "I don't think we really think about it much. We do wonder but we're just trying to keep going as a team."

g.keefe@theday.com