WASHINGTON, D.C.: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton fainted and suffered a concussion while battling a nasty stomach bug, an official said on Saturday (Sunday in Manila), just days before the release of a key probe into the Benghazi attack.

The news came just as Clinton, 65, had been expected to testify on Thursday to US lawmakers about the findings of the investigation into September’s militant attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

The normally indefatigable Clinton, who in her four years as the top US diplomat has traveled almost a million miles visiting 112 countries, was “recovering” but plans to stay away from the office next week, her top aide Philippe Reines said.

Her doctors said Clinton had experienced “extreme dehydration, and subsequently fainted. Over the course of this week, we evaluated her and ultimately determined she had also sustained a concussion.”

Doctors Lisa Bardack, from Mount Kisco Medical Group and Gigi El-Bayoumi of George Washington University said that they had recommended “she continue to rest and avoid any strenuous activity and strongly advised her to cancel all work events for the coming week.”

They added that they would continue to monitor her progress.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, wished Clinton a quick recovery.

“It is, however, unfortunate that Secretary Clinton is unable to testify next week . . . on the investigation into the terrorist attack that killed four Americans and left others injured,” Lehtinen added.

She said that lawmakers still have “tough questions about State Department threat assessments and decision-making on Benghazi. This requires a public appearance by the secretary of state herself.”

Clinton has already been off work for the past week, after canceling a trip to North Africa when she contracted the stomach virus on her return from a five-day European tour.

She had been due to testify at open hearings next week in both the House and Senate on the outcome of the State Department investigation into the Benghazi assault in which the ambassador and three other Americans died.

State Department acting deputy spokesman Patrick Ventrell confirmed on Friday that the report should be completed by early next week.

Its findings are not binding, but “it’s a chance for the department as a whole to look at our operations and look at what needs to be done to improve security,” he said.

Clinton has said that she will take full responsibility, repeatedly stressing that no one wants to find out what happened in Benghazi more than she does.