Kevin Alston will take an indefinite leave of absence from the Revolution to treat Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (Kristian Cardillo)

New England Revolution defender Kevin Alston has been diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia and will be taking an indefinite leave of absence from the team, the club announced on Monday morning.

CML is a rare, but treatable, form of leukemia that does not require hospitalization. Alston is expected to return to the Revolution at some point in the future.

"The Revolution fully supports Kevin as he begins treatment," Revolution General Manager Michael Burns said. "Right now, the most important thing for Kevin, and his family, is to concentrate on returning to full health. Kevin's had a tremendous attitude since the diagnosis and his positivity is an inspiration for all of us.”

Alston has started the first four games of the 2013 season at left back. Originally picked up as a right back by the Revolution as the 10th overall selection in the 2009 Draft, the speedy defender was switched to the left side last year. The Revolution have depth at left back through Chris Tierney and Tyler Polak.

If anyone wants to reach out to Alston, they can do so by sending him get-well messages and thoughts to the email GetWellKevinAlston@gmail.com or tag tweets with #GetWellKA.