Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was absent from the bench for a third straight day on Wednesday.

Chief Justice John Roberts said Ginsburg was unable to be present for arguments but would participate in deciding Wednesday's case via briefs and transcripts of oral arguments.

The 85-year-old justice is working from home after undergoing surgery on Dec. 21 to remove two cancerous nodules from her left lung. Roberts did not say whether Ginsburg would be back on the bench next week.

Her absence Monday marked the first time in more than 25 years on the court that she missed an oral argument due to her health.

The Supreme Court's Press Office said last month that Ginsburg's cancer was discovered in an X-ray after she fractured three ribs on her left side in a Nov. 7 fall. Both nodules removed during surgery were found to be malignant on initial pathology evaluation, but post-surgery there was no evidence of any remaining disease.

Ginsburg has survived two previous bouts of cancer - colon cancer in 1999 and pancreatic cancer in 2009 - and did not miss a day in court during those periods.