Alan Jones' bad back is keeping him off air for another two weeks, with the fiery and high rating morning radio host expected to be away until February 20.
Mr Jones underwent another major operation earlier this week and is now recovering, according to executive chairman of Macquarie Media, which owns 2GB, Russell Tate.
The shock jock took leave from his radio show around November 20 last year for surgery to fix a dislodged spinal disc. He expected to be discharged just before Christmas and to be back behind the microphone at the start of February.
Mr Jones was also due to host a Commercial Radio Association event in Canberra this week, but had to pull out at the last minute. Instead fellow 2GB presenter Ben Fordham stepped in, and read a personal message from Mr Jones to the room of politicians.
In the ratings period before he left Mr Jones was getting about 140,000 listeners every morning, and is extremely popular with listeners over 55 years old.
The figures dropped to 127,000 listeners in the next ratings survey period. Meanwhile, music station WSFM Gold seems to have picked up some of the extra listeners, with 18,000 more people tuning in to the Jonesy and Amanda breakfast slot between September 25 and December 3.
The current ratings period started on January 22 and lasts until March 4. So if he does make it back on February 20, Mr Jones will have just two-weeks of a six-week ratings period.
In his absence, colleague Chris Smith has been hosting Mr Jones' talk show.
"There is not much we can do," Mr Tate told The Australian Financial Review, this week.
"There are eight surveys a year and most of them are very kind to us. Obviously we'd rather have him there than not there, but we'll manage somehow."
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