AceShowbiz - Al Roker finds his hospitalisations "tough." After back-to-back admissions for treatment, the weatherman, 68, made the remarks in a virtual return to the "Today" show on Monday, December 12.

"It's been a tough slog, I'm not gonna deny this. It's been the hardest one yet, and you know I've had my share of surgeries. I'm doing physical therapy every day, occupational therapy. I've got to just get my strength back. I feel good. I feel strong. Every day I feel a little bit better," he said via video from his home.

Al's health battles hit headlines in November when he explained his temporary absence on the NBC morning show. He told his Instagram followers, "Last week I was admitted to the hospital with a blood clot in my leg which sent some clots into my lungs. After some medical whack-a-mole, I am so fortunate to be getting terrific medical care and on the way to recovery."

Al's health woes forced him to miss Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for the first time in 27 years. He also missed the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting the same month, with Page Six reporting he had been released from the hospital and rushed back for treatment within a day.

Al, who adopted daughter Courtney, 35, with his first wife Alice Bell, and has children Leila, 24, and son Nicholas, 20, with his second wife Deborah Roberts, has been open about his health struggles over the years, including an emergency carpal tunnel surgical procedure in 2018 and a hip replacement the following year.

In November 2020, he shared a prostate cancer diagnosis with viewers, warning the disease - which he beat after surgery - was "a little aggressive" despite him catching it early.