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Where in the world is Matt Lauer? At home, recovering from a bicycle accident.
"He was riding his bike over the weekend, and he had a run-in with a deer," Today show cohost Meredith Vieira explained on this morning's broadcast.
"He apparently dislocated his shoulder, and he's at the doctor's this morning."
Lauer's injury occurred when, while bicycling on Long Island, the animal darted into the road in front of his pedal-pushing ride. Lauer quickly braked to avoid veering into the animal and the sudden stop sent him flying over the handlebars.
Vieira said her early morning colleague sent her an email to explain the unusual situation and air his suspicions that "the deer was hired by the competition."
"I hired the deer, but I said just graze him," she joked.
Oh, deer.
NBC News' Lester Holt filled in for the recuperating 51-year-old. It's unclear when Lauer will return to his anchor duties.