Al Roker's co-anchors on the Today Show are thinking of him frequently, as evidenced by how much they mention him while he's off the show due to his knee replacement surgery.
While he is already recovering well, as per his updates on social media, his co-hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb couldn't resist bringing it up on Thursday's latest installment of the morning news show as well.
"Al is doing great," Savannah said right before turning to his sub for the week, Dylan Dreyer, for the weather, stating in fact that he was already home, much to the delight of others in the studio.
Dylan spoke to his gung-ho attitude, adding: "Do you have any doubt? I'm surprised he's not here right now," to which Savannah added that he was "up and walking already on that new knee."
The mom-of-three continued: "Nice to be here, I'm so glad Al is doing fine and I'm sure he's watching," giving him a special shout-out by saying with a sweet "Good morning, buddy!"
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It was an emptier week at the Today Plaza than usual, with the 68-year-old NBC veteran still in recovery and Craig Melvin on assignment, as the three women were joined then by Carson Daly for his Pop Start segment.
The two meteorologists have developed a close friendship over the years on NBC and even host the Third Hour of Today together, alongside Craig and Sheinelle Jones.
Al was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday for his knee replacement surgery and on Wednesday he updated his fans on his progress.
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Alongside a clip from his hospital room, where the sun was rising over New York City, he wrote: "Feeling grateful and #hopeful on this #firstday with my #newknee Who knew?," and he was immediately inundated with supportive messages.
One wrote: "You got this. The first 2 weeks it will feel like a long recovery and then bam!! You are going to feel like a new person. Speedy recovery. Looking forward to seeing those Central Walk walking posts," and another added: "Wishing you a speedy recovery @alroker," while many more sent prayers.
Al has struggled with his health in the past, having lost over 100 pounds in the past two decades after a gastric bypass surgery in 2002, and a recent hospital stint due to blood clots in his lungs, when Dylan stood in for him once again.
Before his late 2022 surgery, though, Al was an avid walker, and fans could count on seeing a video update from him everyday on his Instagram chatting to the camera as he got in his routine 10,000 steps a day.
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Back in March, he celebrated being able to walk over 10k steps for the first time since his surgery, showing a photo of his Apple Watch registering over 11,000 steps.
"Before my left knee went south, a 10k+ step day was no big deal. Today was the first day, I felt good walking this much," he wrote then, alluding to his upcoming knee replacement after his first one 22 years ago.
Check out some more photos of Al Roker's life on the Today Show and off below:
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