Al Roker "feels good", almost a month after having knee surgery.
Al Roker is on the mend
The 68-year-old weatherman went under the knife for a second joint replacement surgery on 9 May but he's now back on his feet and getting back out and about.
Speaking to People magazine at the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic at the Liberty State Park in New Jersey over the weekend, the 'Today' star - who was accompanied by his wife, Deborah Roberts - said: “I feel good. This is kind of the first thing that I'm going out to, other than work.
"It's nice to be wearing nice clothes. Here we are. You can't help but feel better.”
Al returned to 'Today' last Tuesday (30.05.23) for the first time since having his surgery.
Co-anchor Savannah Guthrie introduced him and said:"Look who's here! Mr. Roker, we are so happy to have you back in our studio. You've got a brand knew knee! Does it still have that new knee smell?"
Al quipped: "I don't want to go there. We're putting it to use. ... It's all good, all good."
The week before, Deborah revealed Al's recovery was "slow going".
She told fans on Instagram Live: “Thank you all so much for being so concerned about him and so interested in his well-being.
“As many of you know he had a knee re-replacement, so a knee that had been replaced many, many years ago had problems and had to be re-replaced."
“It makes it slow going – it makes it a little tougher. It was a harder surgery, so it’s a little bit harder to snap back from but he’s doing pretty well, moving a little slowly.”
Deborah also revealed her husband of 27 years was sitting opposite her as she spoke, but was “not interested” in “getting involved today”.
She added: “He wants to just say thank you to everybody who has asked about him. Thank you all so much – you have all been so kind and so generous and just so caring and compassionate about my family over these last several months as we’ve gone through a few things.”
Deborah also said about how her husband is keen to get back to work: “Al is chomping at the bit to try to get back to work, but the doctor just wants him to take it slowly so that he can continue to heal well.
“So on Al’s behalf and our family's behalf thank you so much and I’m sure he’ll be popping up soon.”
Scolding Al for not resting enough, she went on: “Some of you may have seen him cooking. I did not like that he’s been trying to do that because he needed to give himself some time and some rest and elevate his leg and ice it and all of that, so he’s doing all that.
“He’s trying to obey the doctor’s orders so that he can get back to work and to play as soon as possible, so just wanted to give you a little update on him.”