Bob Costas Eye Infection: NBC Anchor Set To Return After One Week Off The Air

Bob Costas had an eye infection that caused him to be off the air for a week, but the NBC anchor will finally return to action on Monday.

On Sunday the network announced that Costas is set to return for prime time on Monday, after Today host Matt Lauer had subbed in for him during the Sunday night telecast.

The longtime anchor made headlines last week when he was seen on the air with a visibly infected eye. Bob Costas updated viewers about the situation, saying he came down with the infection shortly after arriving in Sochi to cover the Winter Olympics.

“Bear with me for a moment as I spare my friends in the press office countless inquiries,” Costas said, according to Chris Chase of For The Win. “I have no choice to go all ‘Peabody and Sherman’ on you for the next couple of nights since I woke up this morning with my left eye swollen shut and just about as red as the old Soviet flag. According to the NBC doctors here, it’s some kind of minor infection which should resolve itself by the weekend. If only all my issues would resolve themselves that quickly, but that’s another story.”

The eye quickly became a story of its own. The search term “Bob Costas eye” was trending on Google and someone even started a parody Twitter account for his red and swollen eye.

Bob Costas said last week that the swollen eye should clear up quickly, but that wasn’t the case. As the week went on Costas had blurred vision that made it difficult for him to work. During his absence Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira filled in for him.