Chicago Fire has given fans an update on Kelly Severide’s

whereabouts as actor Taylor Kinney’s leave of absence continues.

Lieutenant Severide has been missing from the series since March

when it was announced that Kinney would be taking a break from the show in order to deal with an undisclosed personal matter.

The character did not actually appear in the episode (‘Damage Control’), as Kinney had already left by the time filming came around, but it was revealed to viewers that the Lieutenant had left town to go to “the best arson investigation training program in the world”.

In the latest episode (‘Change Of Plans’), however, Joe Cruz (Joe Minoso) discovered that the firefighter is no longer in Alabama, and has been sent to work on a huge ATF (alcohol, tobacco and firearms) criminal investigation after impressing his superiors.

However, this is a development that Severide hadn’t told his wife Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo), with Cruz accidentally revealing the details when he lets the news slip during a trip to Molly’s bar.

Severide is not due to appear in the season 11 finale, due to air on Wednesday, May 24, but the episode will see Jesse Spencer reprise his role as Matthew Casey, following his exit in 2021, as Lieutenant Kidd discovers “a new lead on the Homeland Security case”.

Speaking about hanging up his firefighter hat, Spencer told TVLine that he was “open” to making another return sometime in the future for cameos, but disappointed fans by saying that it wouldn’t be a full term occurrence.

“I never say never. When I left the show, I talked to [co-showrunner] Derek [Haas] and everybody and said: ‘Listen, if it makes sense to bring me in for a storyline that you think would be appropriate for Casey to come in for, I’m happy to pop in for an episode’. But in terms of like long-term or something, I don’t think so.”