When will everyone’s favorite weathercaster be back on the air?
We may be enduring an Al Roker drought for now, but we’ve finally gotten a forecast about when he’ll be back on the air.
If you’re one of the countless Americans across the country who love to start each morning with a hearty dose of The TODAY Show, then you already know that the show’s legendary weatherman has been out for a few weeks now, since undergoing knee surgery on May 9.
On Tuesday, May 23, Roker made a virtual appearance on TODAY to let fans know when he plans to return to on-air work. “I’ll see you next Tuesday,” he said.
He also offered a quick update on how his recovery has been going. “I am doing fine,” he said. “It is good to see all of you. I’ve had a number of knee replacements… This one has been the toughest one yet because they had to take out the old one, which had some complications, and then put in a new one.”
You can watch Roker’s virtual appearance in the video embedded below, and we’ve got more on what Roker had to say about how he’s spending all his free time at home these days, as well as when he thinks he’ll be returning to work.
Roker shares what he’s been doing during his recovery period
In a virtual appearance for the show on May 15, Roker shared what he’s been doing during his recovery period. “[I’ve been] hanging out,” he told viewers. “Just chilling out, not doing anything, which I know a lot of people find hard to believe, but in fact that is the case.”
Roker gave his fans a little bit of insight into what he personally considers “chilling out.” That includes catching up on hit shows like Poker Face and The Mandalorian. It also includes three weekly physical therapy appointments, which he will be doing for at least “a few months.”
As for when he plans to return to on-air work?
“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 yes, I know, I’m not going to rush back before I have to.”
Roker admits to being too ‘optimistic’ about his recovery timeline
According to the Mayo Clinic, it can take upwards of a year for a person to fully recover from knee surgery. But that generous timeline didn’t stop Roker from making some hasty plans for himself within a few weeks of his own comprehensive knee surgery.
During his visit with the TODAY team, Roker admitted that he’s had moments of being “wildly optimistic,” in terms of his recovery timeline. For example, he said he had hoped to take his family to “one of our [favorite restaurants], Daniel, for Mother’s Day, which is kind of our tradition.”
“But that was not realistic,” he explained, “so we ordered in some quiche and some stuff and just had a nice meal in the backyard here.”
While Roker is recovering on the couch, it seems that another family member is getting after it on the exercise bike nearby. The Emmy Award winner shared with viewers that his son, Nick, recently came home from college and has been hitting the Peloton hard during his summer vacation.
“Nick just got back home from school, so that’s been great,” Roker said. “Until I heard him click into that Peloton in the room next door.”
