Philadelphia 76ers All-Star center Joel Embiid will have a corrective procedure this week to “address an injury to the lateral meniscus in his left knee. An update will be provided following the procedure,” the team said Sunday.
Though there is no official timeline for the 2022-23 MVP’s absence, he is expected to miss an extended number of games, but the Sixers and Embiid are hopeful for a return this season, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports. He requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about Embiid’s condition.
Embiid, who has an extensive injury history, sustained the meniscus injury in Tuesday’s game against Golden State.
He has been playing hurt for much of the season and has missed 14 of the Sixers’ 48 games.
The Sixers are 30-18 and in fifth place in the Eastern Conference. Embiid’s presence is integral to the Sixers’ success. They are 26-8 with Embiid and 4-10 without him.
This season, Embiid is averaging a career-high 35.3 points and 5.7 assists, and also posting 11.3 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 1.1 steals per game and shooting 53.3% from the field, 36.6% on 3-pointers and 88.3% on free throws.
Embiid has been at the center of the NBA’s new policy which ties games played to eligibility for regular-season awards and honors such as MVP and All-NBA. Starting with this season, a player must play in at least 65 of 82 games to be considered for regular-season awards and honors. Before Embiid’s injury, he was in danger of not playing in 65 games amid an MVP-caliber season. The surgery and subsequent missed games will take him out of the MVP discussion.