Carrie Underwood Gets Candid About Her Face After Scary Accident: 'It Just Wasn't Pretty'

Carrie Underwood is sharing new details about the scary fall that resulted in 40–50 stitches to her face and surgery for a broken wrist.

The "Cry Pretty" singer, 35, opened up to Today show's Hoda Kotb about the accident and her recovery in a wide-ranging interview that aired on Thursday.

"Plain and simple, it was just kind of a freak accident," Underwood told Kotb. "I just fell. I just tripped taking my dogs out to do their business. It could happen to anybody."

She adds, "I say if I would have fallen anywhere else, it wouldn't have been a problem. There was one little step that I went to catch myself on and I missed."

PEOPLE previously confirmed that Underwood fell outside her Nashville home on Nov. 10, 2017. She told Today she was alone — aside from her 3-year-old son, Isaiah, who was asleep upstairs.

Though Underwood went dark on social media for a brief period of time during recovery, in December 2017, Below Deck alum Adrienne Gang posted a picture with her, marking the first time fans had seen Underwood post-fall.

Then in January, seven weeks after the accident, the country star revealed that in addition to having surgery on her wrist, she required "40 and 50 stitches" to her face, in a statement to her fan club members.

Though Kotb told the pop star she thought she looks "the same," Underwood said on Thursday, "In the beginning, I didn't know how things were going to end up. It just wasn't pretty."

"I have a dedicated team of professionals who can spackle and paint and paste," she also told Kotb, adding, "Every day I'm feeling a little more back to normal."

In April, Underwood shared the first picture of her face since the injury when she posted a black and white profile photo of herself gazing intently inside a music studio on social media. Two days later, she shared a full-face portrait.

• Want to keep up with the latest from PEOPLE? Sign up for our daily newsletter to get our best stories of the day delivered straight to your inbox.

That same month, the six-time Grammy winner gave details of the accident for the first time, explaining that the fall happened when she went to take her dogs out for a quick walk at night.

"I was taking the dogs out to go pee one last time, and I just — I tripped," she said during an interview with iHeartRadio's The Bobby Bones Show.

"There was one step, and I didn't let go of the leashes! Priorities! So that's why my left hand's fine. But I went to catch myself and I just missed a step. If I had fallen anywhere else, I would have been perfectly fine. But it was one step that messed everything up," she added.

RELATED GALLERY: From Hurt to Healed: Every Photo of Carrie Underwood Since Her Accident

Underwood broke her right wrist and injured her face around her mouth, with the scars slightly visible during the interview.

"I thought I just busted my lip," she later told Storme Warren on SiriusXM's The Highway. "Then I walked inside and took the dog leashes off and took my coat off and went to go survey the damage and was like, 'Oh, no!' I'm acting very calm about it now, but … it wasn't pretty. I chipped my tooth but it was just my skin, thank the Lord. Stitches and all that stuff."

Recently, Underwood has been slowly returning to the spotlight.

Not only did she return to the stage at the ACM awards, but over the past month, the American Idol alum showed her strength by debuting new music and singing the national anthem ahead of husband Mike Fisher's hockey game.

At a Mother's Day event in New York City for her activewear line with CALIA by Carrie Underwood, the singer told PEOPLE exclusively: "I feel great."