Al Roker made a virtual return to the “Today” show Monday after back-to-back hospitalizations.
“It’s been a tough slog, I’m not gonna deny this,” the weatherman told his co-anchors. “It’s been the hardest one yet, and you know I’ve had my share of surgeries.”
Roker noted that he had a “certain amount of weakness” after losing muscle mass in the hospital.
“I’m doing physical therapy every day, occupational therapy. I’ve got to just get my strength back,” he explained. “I feel good. I feel strong. Every day I feel a little bit better.”
The 68-year-old even cooked “dinner last night,” which did not surprise his colleagues.
Roker made headlines in November after explaining his temporary absence on the NBC morning show to his Instagram followers.
“Last week I was admitted to the hospital with a blood clot in my leg which sent some clots into my lungs,” he wrote at the time. “After some medical whack-a-mole, I am so fortunate to be getting terrific medical care and on the way to recovery.”
For the first time in 27 years, the Daytime Emmy winner missed Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Roker did not attend the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting later that same month either, with Page Six exclusively reporting that he had been released from the hospital and rushed right back within 24 hours.
“Due to some complications, he is back in the hospital, and he is in very good care,” Hoda Kotb confirmed on Dec. 1. “He’s resting, and his doctors are keeping a close eye on him.”
Craig Melvin chimed in, “We will see you back here soon, my friend.”
When Roker returned home on Thursday, he shared a family photo with his wife, Deborah Roberts, and their 24-year-old daughter, Leila.
“Home! So incredibly grateful to family, friends, medical folks, @todayshow family and all your thoughts and prayers,” the journalist, who is also the father of daughter Courtney, 35, and son Nicholas, 20, gushed.
Roker has been transparent about his health struggles over the years, from his emergency carpal tunnel surgery in 2018 to a hip replacement the following year.
In November 2020, the TV presenter shared his prostate cancer diagnosis with viewers, noting that the disease was “a little aggressive” despite catching it “early.”
Roker returned to “Today” two weeks later after an operation and recovery.
