The bad news regarding Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid keeps coming. Fresh off reports that he will require a second foot surgery in as many years and miss the entire 2015-16 season, comes this chilling description of Embiid’s injury from the Philadelphia Daily News:
“There is the impending surgery on Joel Embiid’s right foot, which should be any day. Sources have confirmed to the Daily News that the navicular bone in his right foot was rebroken.”
There is bad news, and then there is this type of news. Following the break of the navicular bone in his right foot last year, Embiid had screws implanted in the foot during surgery. Those screws were meant to create a foundation for the big man to avoid further injury down the road.
It’s common for foot surgeries to include the implementation of screws. Most of the time, the surgery does help a player return to full health without further complications.
Remember when reigning NBA MVP Stephen Curry was considered injury prone because of continual ankle issues. Since he had screws installed in his ankle, there hasn’t bean an issue.
Of course, we are talking about a player in Embiid who stands nine inches taller and weighs 60-plus pounds more than Curry. It’s that frame that has to be worrisome to the big man and his franchise moving forward.
There is a possibility that Embiid’s recent injury could be career threatening. It’s a situation that few before him have had to deal with.
Photo: USA Today Sports