Sports Medicine Doctor Points Out a Concerning Issue With Joel Embiid’s Left Eye Amid Sixers’ Struggles Against Knicks

Joel Embiid just can’t seem to catch a break. As if a plethora of knee injuries weren’t enough, the perennial All-Star seems to be dealing with a new issue. After the 76ers’ close 101-104 loss against the Knicks, many observed that Embiid seemed out of sorts in the last quarter. During the press conference, he didn’t look comfortable while blinking his eyes. In that wake, sports medicine doctor Brian Sutterer made technical observations about Embiid’s blinking motions. Alluding to the unnatural movement of his eyes, the experienced doctor concluded that the 2x scoring champion had suffered some form of “nerve injury/damage”. 

The doctor pointed out how the case is akin to Bell’s palsy, where muscles on one side of the face can become frail. However, for Sutterer, the weakness isn’t palpable throughout one side of the face. Here is what he had to say about Embiid’s likely eye injury while referring to one of his images from Game 2.

“This image makes some type of nerve injury/damage for Embiid very likely. See how the left forehead doesn’t wrinkle but the right does?  That means the left side isn’t getting nerve innervation like the right. Think of a Bell’s palsy phenomenon but this seems isolated to the upper branch of the cranial nerve and not the whole thing, otherwise his mouth would droop too.”

This image makes some type of nerve injury/damage for Embiid very likely. See how the left forehead doesn’t wrinkle but the right does?

That means the left side isn’t getting nerve innervation like the right. Think of a Bell’s palsy phenomenon but this seems isolated to the… https://t.co/TgwZaHVDD0 pic.twitter.com/cQfetmFKBK

— Brian Sutterer MD (@BrianSuttererMD) April 23, 2024

The concerns regarding Joel Embiid’s eyes are not far-fetched. Major news outlets have been reporting the issue. Is the 76ers’ medical staff hiding something from the world?

Joel Embiid’s discomfort has caused alarms

There were multiple instances when the Cameroonian-born Center looked out-of-the-sync while blinking. In one example, it is clear that while he was blinking his right eye, his left eye wasn’t undertaking the motion. This is in line with Sutterer’s observation about the left side of his face not receiving the “nerve innervation” like his right side.

In one other occurrence, Embiid also refused to make eye contact with reporters. During a post-game interview, he kept his head down and never lifted it. While it is common for NBA athletes to react like that after a loss, the evidence regarding the defending MVP seems to suggest an avoidance.  

#Embiid is unfairly criticized for “looking down” in the post game interview. No one is discussing what appears to be a SERIOUS #eye multifunction. He was unavailable for media after game 1 & wore shades before game 2. Something is going on. Mad respect for Jo but I’m concerned. pic.twitter.com/S1Hefyc1Qm

— Elijah Langford (@mynameis_E) April 23, 2024

Is this a lingering injury or something he picked up recently? As per Fox Sports, Embiid’s injury history suggests that he did suffer a facial contusion in March 2018, but that was six years ago. While there can be long-term repercussions of such an injury, there is a high chance that the current eye/nerve injury is a much more recent occurrence.