After missing 63 games last season due to a knee injury that required arthroscopic surgery in April, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid provided an update on his recovery Friday.
According to Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports, Embiid suggested that everything is moving forward as planned, saying: “We’ve got a plan in place, trying to check all of the boxes … this is still kind of a feel period where we’re just taking it day by day … there’s been a few court sessions, everything’s on schedule.”
Per SI.com’s Chris Mannix, Embiid said he feels “pretty good” and has “made a lot of progress,” although there isn’t yet a timetable for his return.
Last season, Embiid missed the start of the campaign with a knee issue, and even once he returned to action, it continued to linger, which forced him to take games off regularly before shutting it down.
Mannix noted that Embiid indicated that he doesn’t want a repeat of last season, saying he wants to “play consistently.”
Per Neubeck, Embiid stressed the importance of giving an honest assessment of where he stands physically, saying, “I think going forward we’re just going to listen to the body. I’ll be honest and say it’s going to be unpredictable at times, and that’s okay. We’re going to work with that.”
After winning his first MVP following a 2022-23 campaign that saw him put up 33.1 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, Embiid played just 39 games in 2023-24 because of various injuries, mainly a torn lateral meniscus.
Despite his injury troubles, Embiid suited up in the 2024 Paris Olympics. He then missed all of preseason and the start of the 2024-25 campaign because of his knee injury.
Embiid made his 2024-25 season debut in November, but his time on the court didn’t last long. He played just 19 games before the 76ers ended his season in February because of his lingering knee injury.
He averaged 23.8 points and 8.2 rebounds during the 2024-25 campaign.
Even though his season ended prematurely, Embiid wasn’t able to get back to work by the start of the offseason. The Athletic’s Tony Jones reported July 12 that Embiid hadn’t yet resumed on-court activities, but Daryl Morey and the rest of the front office were “optimistic” he’d be ready to go by the start of the season. Embiid told ESPN’s Dotun Akintoye in July that he didn’t have a timeline for his return.
Given that the Sixers’ preseason slate starts Thursday and their regular-season opener is on Oct. 22, time is running short in terms of Embiid getting himself ready for the start of the campaign.
If he isn’t cleared to play by then, it would perhaps feel like shades of last season for frustrated 76ers fans who are hoping for a bounce back from the disappointing 24-58 record they posted in 2024-25.
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