Mr Clark suffered a minor heart attack on the afternoon of December 27 and underwent surgery at Dunedin Hospital last Wednesday.
He was originally scheduled to have a quadruple bypass but that proved unnecessary.
Deputy mayor Tom Campbell said it was a great result to have Mr Clark back home in Invercargill and resting with his family.
"It definitely wasn’t the start to the year we were expecting but I am pleased Nobby is on the mend and focusing on his health," he said.
"I look forward to having him back around the table with us once he is fully recovered."
Mr Clark’s recovery was likely to take a couple of months and Cr Campbell would take the reins at the council until Mr Clark was able to return, he said.
Mr Clark said he was pleased to be home.
"I have a deep appreciation of the outstanding work done by the clinicians and nurses in the cardiac wards. I feel blessed to have caught this heart attack early before it did any serious damage.
"A special thank you to the ED staff at Southland Hospital who picked up so quickly that I had experienced a heart attack.
"My partner Karen is making sure I don’t overdo things in my hurry to recover, but I know the city is in safe hands with Tom at the helm."
The council is set to reconvene for the year on January 23 with a community wellbeing committee meeting.
