Barbara Walters returning to "The View" next week

Talk show icon Barbara Walters is making her return to television after a brief hospitalization coupled with an unfortunate illness has had her off the air since the inauguration weekend.

On January 22^nd, Walters fainted and took a fall where she unfortunately struck her head and cut her temple. Walters was at the residence of the British ambassador for the inauguration of President Obama when the incident occurred. Walters was hospitalized with a concussion and only a few days later she was diagnosed with a case of the chicken pox. According to ABC News’ chief health and medical editor, Dr. Richard Besser, “Chicken pox is rare among adults thanks to a vaccine introduced in 1995, but it needs to be taken seriously since adults are at increased risk of complications, including pneumonia, brain inflammation and bacterial skin infections.”

In a live call in with her co-workers on The View, Walters joked about her return to the show next week. “Like it or not, I’m coming back to the show again,” Walters laughed. “No more chicken pox… I haven’t been contagious for a while, but they wanted me to have rest, and I’ve had enough rest and I’m ready to come back.”