Joel Embiid Suffers Meniscus Injury, 76ers Unsure Of His Return

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Joel Embiid’s hopes of being the NBA MVP two years in a row are just about over. The Philadelphia 76ers’ big man has long had nagging injuries in his left knee, and he just suffered another. It happened during a game Tuesday against the Golden State Warriors when he dove for a ball. He missed the ball, which was recovered by Jonathan Kuminga, who landed on Embiid’s left leg, causing it to bend in an awkward motion and hyper-extend. Embiid immediately winced in pain and grabbed his left leg, having missed two games the week prior for soreness in that same knee. He’d eventually stand up and limp to the locker room.

He went on to miss Thursday’s game, and now it’s clear he may be out for an extended period of time because the team has revealed he suffered a lateral meniscus injury, with some sources claiming it’s torn. “An MRI following Wednesday’s game (sic) and further evaluation over the last 24 hours revealed an injury to the lateral meniscus in Embiid’s left knee,” Sixers told Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer. “Embiid, in consultation with the 76ers medical staff and several leading specialists, will be OUT through the weekend while a treatment plan is finalized. Updates will be provided as appropriate.” Embiid was already just six games shy of not fulfilling the league’s new rule that players must play at least 20 minutes in at least 65 games to be considered for awards like MVP and Defensive Player of the Year. But individual awards aside, Embiid’s sidelining is a huge loss to the 76ers’ lineup. They lost the game against the Warriors and the two other games he missed, falling to 29-17. Amidst a four-game losing streak, it’s still unknown how much time Embiid will miss before rejoining the lineup. “I don’t know if there’s any opinion to put on it at all. You know, the news is, they got the MRI, and the news is what you’ve been told, right? And I don’t think we’re gonna know much yet until after the weekend,” head coach Nick Nurse said. See how social media is reacting to Embiid’s injury below.