Trivia game contestants were left puzzled this week when "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek showed up on set in crutches.

"I'm going to start today with a question which I suspect is on many of your minds right now," Trebek said. "The answer is at 2:30 yesterday morning, chasing a burglar down the hall in a San Francisco hotel."

Trebek, 72, suffered a torn achilles tendon after he chased a female robber from his hotel room.

The 56-year-old woman stole cash, a bracelet from Trebek's mother and other items.

"I called security immediately and gave them a good description of the (woman) and they got her," he said.

"The suspect was later apprehended by security in the hotel and they recovered some of the stolen items and some cash in an ice machine," San Francisco Police Department Lt. Troy Dangerfield added.

Trebek seemed unaffected by the bizarre event Wednesday, as he hosted the National Geographic World Championship at Google headquarters.

He'll have surgery at the end of the week. The burglary suspect appeared in court Thursday facing a felony charge.