NEW YORK — Al Roker is finally heading back to “Today” after health issues kept him away from some of the NBC staple’s most iconic holiday traditions.
The Daytime Emmy winner, 68, “is coming back to the show,” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie announced during Tuesday’s broadcast.
“We have our day. He’ll be here Friday,” continued Hoda Kotb. “He’ll be right here in Studio 1A. This is his place. He’ll be in his seat, right where he belongs. We cannot wait for that.”
“And we’ll be back together,” said Craig Melvin.
Roker faced several health issues in the last few months of 2022. After testing positive for COVID-19 in late September, the Queens-born daytime TV icon announced in mid-November that he’d been hospitalized “with a blood clot in my leg which sent some clots into my lungs.
“After some medical whack-a-mole, I am so fortunate to be getting terrific medical care and on the way to recovery,” he continued at the time.
Though he was released from the hospital days later, the meteorologist was forced to miss his first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 27 years.
Roker was back in the hospital days later due to “complications” that followed his initial treatment. In addition to missing the Thanksgiving tradition, he had to miss the Christmas tree lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Center, home to NBC.
Kotb at the time made sure to tell the “Today” audience that Roker was “in very good care.”
Roker took to Instagram on Dec. 8 to announce he was “Home!
“So incredibly grateful to family, friends, medical folks, @todayshow family and all your thoughts and prayers,” Roker captioned the photos alongside his family, including his wife, ABC News journalist Deborah Roberts.
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