Jackson called in to Susan this week on Desperate Housewives, letting her know that he was catching up with a friend in Riverton.

The story line was needed, of course, because Gale Harold (who portrays Susan's lover) was injured in an October motorcycle accident; he fractured a shoulder was even rumored to have developed swelling on the brain.

While Harold stopped by the Desperate Housewives set to record Jackson's aforementioned call, when can viewers look forward to him on screen again?

"We are working on bringing him back to the show. We just don't know when," series producers wrote in a statement to TVGuide.com. "Because we had to work around his absence, the story doesn't require him immediately. But we would like to have him back on the show very soon."

Millions of fans surely agree.

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.