The pre-season games are ongoing, but Golden State Warriors' head coach Steve Kerr is already sidelined. The man helming the defending champs was forced to hand the reins over to the assistant coaches in the meantime while he recovers from a spinal fluid leak.

According to a report from San Jose Mercury News, the actual spinal fluid leak is already repaired, but the rehabilitation time is uncertain at this point.

"The leak is fixed, but still getting some symptoms," Kerr explained. "And that's why I'm out. And because I'm still having symptoms, it makes it difficult for me to be on the floor."

He added, "And so the prospects are good. I'm going to heal. The doctor says everybody's body is different. It's a matter of your body sort of recalibrating. And unfortunately, it's not like a sprained ankle, one to two weeks. There's no telling. It's a little bit open-ended, but everybody's very confident everything will be fine."

The leak resulted from a back surgery that Kerr underwent during the summer. Although the coach is eager to dive into the long process of defending their title from the rest of the NBA, the need to rehab and rest required him to take a leave from coaching duties.  

"It's no fun," Kerr said of his forced absence. "I want to be here. This is my dream job. These are my guys coming off a title, the season starts in two weeks, it's unbelievably frustrating. I want to be here, but I also know I've got to be careful. But when I'm at home, I'm bored. So, it's tricky."

Although his recent injury has Kerr out of the picture for the pre-season, the decorated coach and player isn't worried about his overall health and future in the NBA. He pointed out, "I'm 50 years old. I'm in good shape. I'm in good overall health. This is a unique circumstance, and once it's resolved, I'll be fine."

He's confident in his recovery but unwilling to promise a specific return date.

"I'm not going to put a timetable on when I'm going to come back," Kerr stated. "I have to get my health right before I can coach the team, before I can bring the energy that's necessary to coach the team."

"When you are forced to be away, it hurts," he finished.

As the pre-season games will not affect the rankings in the regular season, the team has likely given their blessing for Kerr's leave of absence.

So far, the Warriors have faced the Portland Trailblazers in a pre-season game, losing to the home team by 17 points, according to a report from ESPN.