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Hoda Kotb, Savannah Guthrie and more celebrate Al Roker’s TODAY return with touching tributes

Al's return to TODAY was marked with cheers and heartfelt messages from his colleagues.
/ Source: TODAY

Al Roker returned to TODAY on Jan. 6 and his colleagues couldn’t be more excited.

“To say we have missed you doesn’t even begin to describe it,” Savannah Guthrie told him when he emerged onto the set. “It is nothing without you here.”

That was merely the beginning of the love the TODAY family showed Al. Several of the show’s on-air personalities couldn’t contain their enthusiasm about having the longtime weatherman back in Studio 1A, expressing their joy on Instagram.

“It sure was great getting @alroker back this morning,” Craig Melvin captioned a series of pictures

“He’s back!! How about GOOD things happen in 3’s…#DamarHamlin recovering so well…our own Uncle @alroker triumphantly returned to @todayshow today…What’s next?” Carson Daly wrote on Instagram, alongside a few photos, which featured Al back on the job along with his wife, Deborah Roberts.

“You’re the heartbeat of our show & we’re so glad to have you back! Now find us some warmth & sunshine please!” Carson added.

"He’s Home! We love you @alroker," Hoda Kotb wrote alongside a quintet of pictures capturing Al back at work.

"Our sunshine is back!" Savannah captioned a video of her and Hoda introducing Al while he walked back onto the set at the top of the show.

"Oh how sweet it is!!! Our @alroker is back in action…healthy, happy, and peppy as ever! We love you Al!!" Dylan Dreyer wrote alongside four photos of her 3rd Hour of TODAY crew on the set.

"He’s back. ❤️ Our hearts are thankful and happy!! Love you @alroker," Sheinelle captioned a group of pictures with her, Al, Craig and Dylan.

Al was just as excited to be back on the job, too.

“My heart is just bursting,” he said when he first returned to the show. “I’m just so thrilled to see all of you and the crew and everybody. Right now, I’m running on adrenaline. I’m just thrilled to be here.”

Al's return to TODAY came after nearly two months off of the show while he dealt with health issues.

Al and the TODAY family are back together once again!
Al and the TODAY family are back together once again!Nathan Congleton / TODAY

He said he had two matters to focus on while he was out, including blood clots he developed after he had COVID-19 in September, as well as internal bleeding. Al had to undergo surgery and his doctors learned he had a pair of bleeding ulcers, prompting them to resection his colon, while removing his gallbladder and redoing his duodenum, which is part of the small intestine.

“I went in for one operation, I got four free,” he joked on TODAY.

Al also received welcome back messages from his kids, Courtney, 35, Nick, 20, and Leila, 24, and credited his wife, Deborah, for helping him. While joining his return to TODAY, she noted how serious his condition was.

“It’s not lost on us that this is a major, major thing for Al to be here,” she said. “He is a living, breathing miracle. He really is. And I have to say, I’m not overstating it — I don’t think — Al was a very, very, very sick man. And I think most people did not know that.”