Al Roker's hospitalization leaves him missing Today - what happened?
The Today weatherman has been plagued with ill health over the last year
Al Roker will be replaced temporarily on Today after revealing he's headed back to hospital.
Taking to Instagram, the much-loved weatherman made the announcement as he took a stroll through New York City on Monday. "All set for my #totalkneereplacement on Tuesday," he said. "But in the meantime I was able to get one more walk in #starttoday and check out our @facebook page."
His fans rushed to show their support and commented: "You are liquid sunshine, Al! Wishing you a successful surgery and a speedy recovery," and, "Prayers for a speedy recovery, Al. You will be greatly missed. But I think that Dilly Dilly will take care of things nicely. God bless ya, Al. You’re the best."
It's likely that Dylan Dreyer will stand in for Al, as she did last year when he was away for over a month after suffering from blood clots in his lungs and undergoing a subsequent surgery.
He returned at the top of the new year but announced he would have to take more time off for his knee replacement surgery.
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Before his health took a dive in late 2022, 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.
While it's unfortunate that Al has to undergo the surgery, he'll be eager to get back to full health asap. Especially as he and his wife, Deborah Roberts, have something exciting on the horizon - they're going to become grandparents.
Al's oldest daughter, Courtney Roker Laga, is expecting her first child with husband Wesley Laga. The Today host learned of her pregnancy by accident, when his son-in-law's brother accidentally made him aware of the news.
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A similar slip up, this time from Courtney herself, led him to also discover the sex of the baby, who is due in June.
Al had previously expressed to his daughter that he wanted the sex of his first grandchild to be a surprise, but the secret didn't last very long.
He spoke to on the red carpet, as he was honored at the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame Awards' 31st Anniversary Gala in New York City recently, and explained what happened. "Courtney is expecting our first granddaughter," he said, before quickly reverting to using "grandchild."
Al said he saw a sonogram picture from his daughter over text, and told her: "That baby looks just like you," Courtney inadvertently replied with: "Doesn't she?" revealing that she would be having a baby girl.
Courtney, 36, first shared the news of her pregnancy back in March with an Instagram video set to a remix of Mariah Carey's "Always Be My Baby," featuring pictures of the expecting couple along with videos of their sonogram.
"A new adventure is about to begin," she captioned her post next to a baby bottle emoji, and Al along with his wife Deborah Roberts were quick to gush over the special news in the comments section under the post. He excitedly commented: "Here we go!!! So very very happy!!!!! You guys," adding: "Going for Pop-Pop," while Deborah, who is Courtney's step-mom – her mom is Al's ex-wife Alice Bell – wrote: "This is so very exciting!!!"
See more photos of Al and his family - both onscreen and off - below.
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