ABC News Anchor Woodruff Visits Newsroom

ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff is seen in a December 2005, file photo. Woodruff, who was injured while reporting on the war in Iraq earlier this year, won't attend an upcoming alumni awards ceremony in his home state of Michigan. Woodruff, 44, will send his brother, Dave Woodruff, to accept a 2006 Cranbrook Schools Distinguished Alumni Award on June 10. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens) (Kathy Willens - AP)

NEW YORK -- ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff on Tuesday paid his first visit to the network's New York newsroom since he was seriously hurt by a roadside bomb in Iraq on Jan. 29.

Woodruff's visit was a surprise, much like President Bush's trip to Iraq on Tuesday, and a crowd quickly gathered around him, said Jon Banner, "World News Tonight" executive producer.

"It's the first time many here had seen him, and he was greeted by a spontaneous round of applause," Banner wrote in the "World News Tonight" Web log. "You could literally see the emotion in each hug. There was barely a dry eye."

Woodruff talked about his rehabilitation, how he wanted to get back to work and how wonderful it was to spend time with his four children, Banner wrote.

"There are a lot of happy faces around the newsroom today," he said.

Woodruff has been recovering from serious head injuries and broken bones suffered in the attack. It's unclear when Woodruff will return to work and what he will be able to do: he was "World News Tonight" co-anchor with Elizabeth Vargas at the time of his injury, and Charles Gibson is now the sole anchor of the broadcast.