Jim Calhoun, the Huskies’ Hall of Fame men’s basketball coach, is taking an immediate, indefinite medical leave because of a worsening back problem.

Calhoun, 69, has been suffering for the past few months from spinal stenosis, a lower back condition that causes severe pain and hampers mobility, according to Peter Schulman, a professor of medicine at the UConn Health Center who is Calhoun’s primary health care physician.

Associate head coach George Blaney will lead the Huskies in Calhoun’s absence. Calhoun will not coach Saturday’s game against Seton Hall nor Monday’s game at Louisville, and his condition will be evaluated on a daily basis as options for treatment are explored, according to Phil Chardis, associate director of athletic communications for the men’s basketball team.

“Last summer, Jim had some significant back pain and has seen two excellent back specialists,” Schulman said in a statement. “The initial approach recommended to him was stretching, physical therapy, and exercise, and that was successful for several months. It turns out that there is some degenerative problem in the lumbar vertebrae and it’s impinging on the nerves. It has led to significant back pain and some symptoms in his lower extremities.

“Jim has been able to manage it with the physical therapy and stretching, but over the last several days, things have become worse and he is not able to deal with this on a day-to-day basis, so other options need to be considered. Right now, he is physically unable to coach.”

The Huskies are hoping to end a four-game losing streak on Saturday against Seton Hall. The Huskies, who won a third NCAA Championship in 2011, are 14-7 overall this season and 3-4 in the Big East. There are nine games remaining in the Big East regular season, with the conference’s championship tournament set for March 6-10 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Calhoun, who took a 23-day medical leave in 2010 for an unspecified health issue, is a three-time cancer survivor.