The 41-year-old has been a staple on BBC Breakfast since 2016 alongside presenters Steph McGovern, 36, and Naga Munchetty, 43.
Yet the Football Focus host suffered a last-minute infection that led to a heartfelt message posted on his Twitter account declaring he wouldn’t be able to “return” to the popular BBC One morning programme.
The television personality shared a close-up image of his eye on the social media website.
While Dan didn’t reveal the name of the infection he’d become afflicted with, the picture showed how incredibly swollen and red the eyelid and the area surrounding it had become.
Dan tweeted: “Unable to return to @BBCBreakfast in the morning because of a dodgy eye infection.
“Prepare yourself… this is not make-up!”
Accompanied by a series of emojis, including a broken head and embarrassed face, Dan made sure to thank his co-host for shouldering his duties.
“Thanks to the lovely @stephbreakfast for stepping in at late notice,” he said.
Following the post, viewers were quick to share their feelings with the presenter over his unexpected absence.
One person posted: “Take it easy. You’ve been working too hard!”
“Ouch!! That looks painful hope you recover quickly,” another shared.
A third commented: “That looks nasty and sore. Take care.”
While a fourth even claimed to diagnose the infection, saying: “Had #blepharitis one year ago.
“It’s a mixture of #stress, lack of #sleep and exacerbated by touch. You need to rest!”
“Eekkk! Looks sore,” another fan simply added.
Meanwhile, Dan’s fellow presenters Naga and Steph helmed the Monday morning show, which featured a discussion with Business Secretary Greg Clark.
The conversation became heated when Naga pressed the MP to reveal big names in the business community who were in support of Theresa May’s latest Brexit agreement from Chequers.
Joining the Farnborough airshow today, Greg stumbled over his words as he dodged the host’s questions.
“Airbus said it would consider withdrawing some of its jobs and investment if it wasn’t given clear guidance on Brexit and given a clear deal,” Naga reminded the politician, who failed to list any other names.
“That’s exactly right,” Greg conceded. “And then in response to the Chequers agreement they said that this met the requirements to have that frictionless trade.”
It’s unclear whether Dan Walker will be well enough to return to BBC Breakfast tomorrow.
BBC Breakfast airs weekdays at 6am on BBC One.
