Philadelphia 76ers star center and reigning MVP Joel Embiid will be missing out on substantial time off the court due to an injury to his left knee. The seven-foot center sustained this injury to his left knee during the team’s last matchup with the Golden State Warriors. The news of Embiid’s injury is plastered all over social media. However, doctors are not happy with how NBA analysts and experts chose to articulate the injury update.
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During the matchup with the Warriors, Joel Embiid ended up losing control in the post, leading him to dive for the loose ball. As he battled for possession on the floor, Jonathan Kuminga accidentally ended up falling straight on his knee, leaving Embiid in a world of agony.
Now, according to Shams Charania, Joel Embiid will undergo a corrective procedure surgery to the lateral meniscus in his left knee. The update also stated, “Sources say Embiid’s surgery will address a displaced flap of the meniscus.”
While an average NBA fan may not read too much into this update, doctors and other medical professionals were irked with how the Philadelphia 76ers had chosen to address the injury update and may have been trying to downplay the severity of the injury.
Sports injury doctor Brian Sutterer decided to retweet Shams Charania’s post addressing Joel Embiid’s injury and decided to call out the shortcomings in the report. In an earlier tweet, Dr. Sutterer claimed that the update did not clarify anything and it was a terrible way to describe an injury.
Diving deep into Embiid’s injury, another doctor also decided to give an update on the two most likely outcomes that would happen. He mentioned that there is a chance that the damage may be minimal and fans might get to see Embiid back on the floor this season.
However, he also pointed out the fact that if it turns out to be something more severe, the Philadelphia 76ers star center may end up missing out on the whole season.
With this season-ending injury and the procedure that follows, Joel Embiid is likely to miss out on the rest of the year with the Philadelphia 76ers. Which truly is a shame, given the season he has been having so far.
Joel Embiid is one of the frontrunners for the MVP award this season averaging 35.3 PPG, 11.3 RPG, and 5.7 APG on 64.5% true shooting percentage. But after sustaining an injury to his left knee, Embiid will be spending substantial time away from the floor. This means that the six-time All-Star will end up missing more than 17 games this year and will in turn not be eligible for the MVP award. Even NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal expressed his disappointment when he found out that Joel Embiid would be missing out on the MVP award.
Joel Embiid’s injury-riddled career
Embiid’s relation with injuries is nothing new as the third overall pick by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2014 NBA draft missed his first season due to injuries. He didn’t suit up for Philly up until the 2016-17 NBA season as he underwent two surgeries, leading him to miss out on two entire seasons. But he has been dealing with injuries even before joining the league and even considered retiring before his NBA career took off from the ground.
Embiid has had more than his fair share of injuries throughout his NBA career. Looking back at the Kansas college product’s time in the league, Joel Embiid has never played an entire season due to nagging injuries.
The 2021-22 NBA season is the one where Embiid played the most number of games in a year ever after making it into the league. And now, it looks like the reigning MVP won’t be able to defend his title as his 2023-24 NBA season comes down to a close at just 34 games this year.
