D.C. United defender Chris Odoi-Atsem has been diagnosed with stage two Hodgkin's lymphoma and will undergo four months of chemotherapy, the Major League Soccer club announced Tuesday.

The 23-year-old American son of Ghanaian parents grew up in suburban Mitchellville, Maryland, and will have treatment for blood cancer at Georgetown University Hospital.

"I feel truly blessed to have caught this disease at any early stage and have a medical team that is confident that I will make a full recovery," Odoi-Atsem said.

"I want to use my situation to raise awareness and help others in similar situations who are going through their own individual battles. This is only temporary. God will see me through and I'll be back to where I'm supposed to be -- on the soccer field."

Odoi-Atsem was taken 12th overall by United in the 2017 MLS Draft after a college career at nearby Maryland. He made his debut as a last-minute substitute against Atlanta in April 2017 and made his most recent of 10 appearances for United off the bench against Columbus last March.

"We want to express our unwavering support for Chris as he goes through treatment," United general manager Dave Kasper said.

"He is physically and mentally strong so we know that he's well-equipped to overcome this. The experienced medical staff at MedStar were able to discover it at an early stage and are optimistic that this is highly treatable.

"We're going to be behind Chris every step of the way in this process."

At 12-11 with eight drawn for 44 points, United are sixth in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of Montreal for the final East playoff berth.