Al Roker called into the Today Show Monday to provide an update on his total knee replacement surgery on May 9. The beloved meteorologist, 68, predicted he could be back on Today within the next two weeks, but vowed not to rush back to work. He missed about two months of work last year when he was hospitalized for blood clots in his leg and lungs.
“It’s stiff,” Roker told Hoda Kotb, Savannah Guthrie, and the rest of his Today colleagues. “This one is a little more complicated because it was what they call a revision. It was a replacement of a replacement, so they had to take stuff out, put new stuff in, so it was a bit of a bear.”
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Roker’s video chat Monday came after Roker shared a video of himself walking down a hallway in New York City’s Hospital for Special Surgery, with the help of a walker. Since returning home, Roker has been “chilling out” and trying not to do anything. Those close to him might find that hard to believe, “but in fact, that is the case,” he added. His days have been spent catching up on Peacock’s Poker Face and Disney+’s Star Wars: The Mandalorian.
The veteran broadcaster will be doing three days of physical rehabilitation per week during the next few months. His recovery will continue after he returns to Today. “I’m hoping maybe sometime in the next two weeks to be back,” he said. “I’ll just play it by ear every day, and that’s the thing. And yes, I know, I’m not going to rush back before I have to.”
Roker and his wife, ABC News journalist Deborah Roberts, now have an extra set of hands around the house. Their son Nick returned from college after Roberts helped him pack up his dorm on Mother’s Day. It has been “great” to have Nick home until Nick started using their Peleton bike. “I was hoping that recall might’ve slowed him down a little bit,” Roker joked, referring to Peleton’s recall of 2 million stationary bicycles because the seats could cause falling or injury.
Roker previously underwent knee replacement surgery in April 2021. He was in the hospital last fall for blood clots in his legs. His doctors also found blood clots in his lungs. When he returned to Today on Jan. 6, Roker said he needed surgery for internal bleeding. He also had part of his colon removed and gallbladder removal surgery.
Despite his recent health challenges, Roker told Entertainment Tonight in April he has no plans to retire. “What I will say is, one of the things I learned over the last several months is the power of positive thinking and the power of prayer,” Roker told ET. “The number of prayers that came my way and my family’s way, for Deborah and my kids, I know made a tremendous difference. And once you have a bit of a health scare, you really realize you can’t take it for granted. So, I try and eat a little better [and] exercise a little more.”
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