US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is due back at work on Tuesday after being admitted to a critical care unit for treatment for a bladder issue.
His doctors say he underwent a non-surgical procedure under general anesthesia and is expected to recover fully.
Mr Austin's hospitalisation comes weeks after it emerged that the 70-year-old had kept previous hospital stays secret and had not immediately informed US President Joe Biden of a cancer diagnosis, sparking criticism as the United States faces crises in the Middle East and Ukraine.
Mr Austin effectively vanished from the public eye for treatment for prostate cancer in December and again in January after suffering complications from the procedure.
This time, the public was alerted around two hours after he was sent to the hospital yesterday afternoon, and Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks "assumed the functions and duties" of defence chief just before 5pm local time, according to Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder. "
