Molly Qerim’s ‘First Take’ return date set after mysterious week-long absence worries fans

Viewers of ESPN’s “First Take” can breathe a sigh of relief: Molly Qerim will be back soon.

Qerim will return to hosting “First Take” this upcoming Monday after a week-plus absence, a source told The Post.

It was not clear if Qerim was taking a planned vacation or if there was a personal reason for her to have been away from the show.

An ESPN spokesperson declined to comment.

Viewers of the popular ESPN program had been wondering where Qerim has been.

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“Where is @MollyQerim bruh?” one X user asked , also tagging “First Take” pundit Stephen A. Smith.

Another expressed concern, writing , “@MollyQerim Where are you? Are you ok?”

“I’m not watching @FirstTake without @MollyQerim what’s really going on here,” a third fan wrote .

Qerim has not been posting on social media while she’s been away, as her last entries on X and Instagram were both more than three weeks ago.

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The 40-year-old has been at ESPN since 2008 and became the host of “First Take,” in 2015, succeeding Cari Champion in the role.

Qerim is a UConn graduate and earlier this year she made waves for saying that Caitlin Clark was “lucky” that the Huskies had spent years battling key injuries.

Iowa beat UConn in the Final Four before losing to South Carolina in the title game.

“All I gotta say is she’s lucky this UConn team isn’t healthy, and that’s a true statement,” Qerim said in April .

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“If Paige Bueckers didn’t basically miss two seasons, I don’t know if we’d be talking about Caitlin Clark the way we are right now. That’s facts, Stephen A.,” she continued.

Last year, after a “First Take” fan poll favored an argument from Smith over recurring guest Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, Qerim called “BS.”

“Awwww this is BS! This is BS!” Qerim said. “You know why it’s biased? Stephen A. has been doing this show for a million years, and they’re just voting for him.”

Smith was undeterred.

“We’re going to stop doing this poll,” he told Qerim. “Because every time I win, you just say people are biased. I happen to be right. You’re gonna give me credit for that! … I am right! I am right! Anybody who knows basketball know I’m making the right case.”

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