TODAY’S Al Roker has provided a health update following his knee surgery and his wife Deborah Roberts revealed his retirement plans in an exclusive interview with The U.S. Sun.

Al, 69, underwent a major surgery in May 2023 – a total knee replacement that forced him to be out of work from the Today show to recover for four weeks.

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Al Roker provided a health update a year after his second knee surgeryCredit: Getty

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Al (pictured here running the 2022 Brooklyn Half) revealed that he doesn’t have plans to run another NYC marathonCredit: Instagram/alroker
His second knee surgery – although delayed due to blood clots in his legs and lungs – took place over a year after he got his first surgery in April 2022.

“Everything’s great. Yeah, I feel good,” Al told The U.S. Sun in an exclusive interview at the Harlem School of the Arts’ 60th Anniversary Gala on May 20.

“I’ve been getting out, walking, and now the warm weather is coming, so, you know, I mean, we didn’t really have a spring, but that’s okay. It’s all good, it’s all good.”

No stranger to running marathons, Al recently ran the Brooklyn Half Marathon in 2022 in three hours and 19 minutes.

However, when asked if he’s ready to take on the 2024 New York City Marathon – something he conquered in 2010 – he quickly shut it down.

“That was good. That was it, that was it. I’m not even sure why I did it.

“It was it was really a foolish endeavor. It wasn’t so much run as sauntered, you know, it was almost seven hours, but I enjoyed it,” he remarked.

“I had a good time. You get to see New York unlike any way you’d ever see it any other time. So that was kind of fun.”

Al, who recently backed Kelly Clarkson for admitting to using a weight loss drug, went on to praise anyone in the public who has been open about their health journey just as he has.

“Well, look, I think everybody is on their journey. So whatever you choose to say or do, go with God. I’m happy. No judgment.

“But, you know, I think the more people talk about it, the more it’s less stigmatized,” he shared.

GMA’s Deborah Roberts admits marriage to Al Roker ‘isn’t easy’ and they are ‘constantly working on’ 28-year union

Meanwhile, Al’s colleague, Sheinelle Jones, who also attended the HSA Gala, which took place at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York City, said that she’s done running any more marathons after tackling it in 2023.

“I think I’m a one-and-done kind of girl. I’ll do maybe some halfs. If I do another one, it’ll be maybe in another country, Tokyo or something like that.

“But I’m officially I can’t even believe I’m saying this, but I think I’m officially a runner,” she quipped.

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Al Roker, Deborah Roberts, and Nick Roker (pictured with Sheinelle Jones and daughter Clara Ojeh) attended the Harlem School of the Arts Gala on May 20Credit: Getty

READY TO RETIRE?

Al was accompanied by his wife Deborah, 63, and their 21-year-old son, Nick Roker, since they were honored at the art school’s gala.

Al will be celebrating his milestone 70th birthday on August 20.

When asked for retirement plans from Deborah, she called it a “dirty word” and hinted it’s something they do not discuss at home.

“We don’t even like that word. We think it’s a dirty word. Because you know what? We both are still having a great time.

“We’re still exploring. We’re still discovering. We’re still traveling. We’re doing so much of what we love.

“So why would we even want to say that dirty ‘r’ word?” she revealed to The U.S. Sun as she walked to the red carpet with her family.

Al’s colleague, Sheinelle, felt the same way and doesn’t believe her good pal is retiring in the near future despite him being a significant figure on the morning program since January 1996.

“That man is not retiring anytime soon. He’s got a lot of love left in him to give,” she told The U.S. Sun.

HAVING ‘FUN’ HOSTING

It also appears that Deborah isn’t ready to hang up her co-anchor title from ABC News’ 20/20, which she hosts alongside David Muir.

“It’s been really a lot of fun. It’s been more of the same, but a little more concentrated.

“I’ve been at 20/20 for 20-plus years, and so not a lot has changed, with the exception of feeling a certain amount of responsibility for the show and feeling sort of the humility of stepping into a role that Barbara Walters occupied,” she said.

We’re still exploring. We’re still discovering. We’re still traveling. We’re doing so much of what we love. So why would we even want to say that dirty ‘r’ word [retirement]?

Deborah Roberts

“She was a mentor of mine. So it’s been really just a lot of fun.

“Working with David Muir is a real kick and just sort of working a little bit more intensely with my team has been fantastic.”

The primetime news magazine program airs Fridays at 9 pm ET on ABC while the Today show airs weekdays from 7 am to 11 am ET on NBC.

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Al and Deborah were honored at HSA’s 60th Anniversary Gala at the Ziegfeld BallroomCredit: Getty

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Deborah said that she and her husband Al (pictured on the Today show) are not ready to retireCredit: Getty

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Deborah currently co-anchors ABC News’ 20/20 alongside David MuirCredit: ABC