Tracy Morgan was noticeably absent from Saturday Night Live‘s 40th anniversary show.

The show featured a ton of great cast members doing tributes, reprising classic characters, and sharing good memories.

The audience was packed with cast members and their families, but Tracy Morgan, who was on the show from 1996 to 2003, watched from home.

Producers and colleagues were hopeful that Tracy Morgan would be healed enough from the deadly car wreck that took the life of his friend in June, but he wasn’t ready to make his TV comeback.

A friend of Tracy Morgan’s told the New York Post, “They really wanted him to be there, but when it came down to it, he just isn’t mentally or emotionally ready to appear on TV yet.”

Tracy Morgan reportedly suffered a severe head injury in the accident. He also broke his leg, femur, nose and ribs. It’s possible that he may need assistance to walk for the rest of his life.

Tracy Morgan’s lawyer, Benedict Morelli, issued a statement last year that said, “He’s been out of the hospital for a while but he’s busy with cognitive rehabilitation, speech rehabilitation and physical rehabilitation. He’s still fighting to get better and he is making incremental progress… I mean he had massive fractures in various parts of his body including his face and he had a traumatic brain injury, a very severe one.”

On Saturday Night Live‘s 40 year celebration, Tracy Morgan’s 30 Rock co-stars, Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin, honored him with a message of love and a classic clip from his stint on the show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ig0dz7GA3Y

Tina Fey said of him, “I wish my friend Tracy Morgan was here tonight, and I know that he was hoping that he would be well enough to be here too.”

She added, “If he were here tonight, I’m sure Tracy would remind us that more than anything, he’d like to get us all pregnant.”

“See you at the 41st, Tracy!” Baldwin, 56, said.

“We love you!” Fey added.

I know they weren’t the only ones hoping to see Tracy Morgan on the show. Here’s hoping that Tracy Morgan will recover and be able to make the world laugh again.