Carson Daly Returns to ‘Today’ Show Following Spinal Fusion Surgery

Carson Daly has finally returned to the Today show, following a spinal fusion surgery he had back in August. On Tuesday, the former MTV VJ returned to Today, joking that he feels “18 again” after having Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion surgery. “It worked,” Daly told his morning show colleagues of the procedure, then adding that he’d hoped to have been back sooner, but had to travel to Los Angeles last week for The Voice, which he hosts.

“It’s been quite the recovery,” Daly went on to say. “I had some time to sit around and [rest], but it feels great.” The Today show co-host explained that he has “a long road ahead” to be fully recovered, but that he is committed to the journey. “I hope I get a chance to do a story on it because what I realize now is it’s like the iceberg effect,” he said. “This just isn’t a story about people who have back pain and how do you fix it; there’s a subtext underneath it all that’s very complex that so many of us have to deal with.”

“When you’re in pain and you’re looking to just feel good, that changes your relationship with food and drink and your life,” Daly also shared. “And then when they fix the pain, there are these other complex areas of your life that you need to deal with and realign with. So when I say I’m getting better, I’m getting better in a multitude of ways which is great; which is really great.”

Daly revealed his surgery back in September, appearing virtually on an episode of Today to let fans know how he was recovering. “I feel really good,” the former MTV VJ said, adding that his newest procedure has helped a lot with his chronic back pain. “I just had a really great surgical procedure and I feel great about it, and I’m just… healing.”

The new surgery came just months after Daly had a separate procedure that he hoped would help his back pain issues but ultimately did not. The chronic pain he’s been living with stems from an accident he had in 1997. “(I was) totally deteriorating physically,” Carson told his TODAY show co-anchors and fans in a previous email. “For me, I have always believed that surgery would be only a last resort after I exhausted all other forms of pain relief methods and lower back healing techniques,” he added. “Simply put, after 20 years, I tried literally everything.” Thankfully, it seems the father of four has finally received the health update he was hoping for.