Al Roker is already stepping out with his new knee.
The beloved TODAY weatherman underwent a total knee replacement on May 9 and posted a video to Instagram on May 10 of him walking down a hospital hallway, with a walker, to an apparent physical therapy area, where he walked down a prop staircase with the help of a cane. His knee was wrapped up.
"Up and walking this morning on the #newknee," he captioned. "Wearing a negative pressure pump to help facilitate wound healing."
Recovery from knee replacement surgery commonly includes walking with some assistance within 24 hours of surgery, according to the Minnesota Valley Surgery Center, and patients are usually discharged up to three days after surgery, with full rehabilitation taking about eight weeks.
Al previously had knee replacement surgery 23 years ago. In an Instagram video over the weekend, he clarified that Tuesday's surgery was "a replacement of a replacement." On Monday on TODAY, he shared that he would be absent from the show “for a little while to take care of the knee."
Al is known for his walking routine and participating in Start TODAY. Before his procedure, he got in one more walk over the weekend.
"All set for my #totalkneereplacement on Tuesday, but in the meantime I was able to get one more walk in," he captioned his post from May 7.
In January, Al credited his speedy recovery from blood clots at the end of last year to his fitness.
“My doctor said the physical condition I was in because of the walking — because of the cardio — that probably helped save my life,” he said. “Whatever you do to start moving, to start getting up and doing stuff —it doesn’t matter how much or how little as long as you’re doing something — that makes a big difference.”
