Report: Tracy Morgan Wasn't "Mentally or Emotionally Ready" to Return for SNL Anniversary Special

Tracy Morgan was absent from the Saturday Night Live 40th anniversary special because he is not prepared to be back on television after suffering serious injuries in a car accident last summer.

"They really wanted him to be there, but when it came down to it, he just isn't mentally or emotionally ready to appear on TV yet," a friend of Morgan's told the New York Post.

The 40 best moments from SNL's 40th anniversary special

In Morgan's absence on the 40th anniversary special, his 30 Rock co-stars Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin paid tribute to him with a special "Tracy Morgan Moment." (Watch below.) Morgan was a series regular on Saturday Night Live from 1996 to 2003.

Morgan was critically injured when his limo collided with a Walmart tractor-trailer in New Jersey in June. Comedian James "Jimmy Mack" McNair was killed in the crash. In October, Morgan's lawyer said he may never again perform in public.

A federal judge denied an attempt by Kevin Roper, who was driving the tractor-trailer, to delay a civil lawsuit from Morgan against Walmart. Roper says he plans to appeal the ruling, because he believes the lawsuit will have a negative impact on his right to a fair trial in the criminal case against him, according to The Wrap.

Watch Fey and Baldwin's tribute to Morgan here: