Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has put up an historical start to the 2022-23 season despite his team’s struggles and injury issues.
That includes the NBA MVP candidate tallying 59 points in a recent game against the Utah Jazz. Unfortunately, Embiid will now be sidelined for at least the next two games.
Shams Charania of The Athletic is reporting that Embiid is dealing with a mid-foot sprain and will sit out Philadelphia’s upcoming back-to-back against the Brooklyn Nets and Charlotte Hornets starting Tuesday evening.
Embiid suffered the injury in the second half of Saturday night’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves when he collided with teammate Georges Niang. While the star center was down for a bit and showed a limp, he was able to remain in the game. Following the loss, Embiid detailed what he felt in his foot.
“I’m not sure I think it was my ankle or my foot,” Joel Embiid on injury. “I’m not sure. Hopefully, somehow it feels better, but we’ll see.”
Despite putting up a brilliant start to the 2022-23 season, Embiid has been dealing with a plethora of nagging injuries. For the most part, he’s been able to play through them. We’re not so sure with this one. He’ll be evaluated after this two-game set later in the week.
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Joel Embiid injury news adds to Philadelphia 76ers issues
Philadelphia was without James Harden, Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris for that aforementioned matchup against the Timberwolves. In their stead, Embiid was able to drop 32 points in nearly leading the 76ers to a comeback win.
With that said, these injuries are now piling up. Star young guard Tyrese Maxey suffered a foot fracture in a game late last week and could miss the next month of action. Former NBA MVP James Harden has been out since Nov. 2 with a strained foot. He’s still expected to miss a couple weeks of action.
For his part, Embiid has done what’s possible to keep the 8-8 Sixers afloat. Over the course of his past four games, the big man is averaging 41.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and 7.0 assists. From a broader perspective, he’s simply been brilliant throughout the season.
Given Embiid’s previous injury concerns, we expect Philadelphia to play this clost to the vest. However, its status as a .500 team could impact things in that regard.