76ers vs. Magic: Joel Embiid’s Playing Status on Friday

Will Joel Embiid face the Magic on Friday?

The Philadelphia 76ers aren’t getting any healthier at the moment.

After losing James Harden early on in the year to a tendon strain, the Sixers anticipated going a month without their ten-time All-Star guard.

Tyrese Maxey joined in on the unfortunate trend when he suffered a small fracture in his foot last week in the matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks.

In last Saturday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Joel Embiid was the third starter to suffer an injury that would keep him out of multiple games.

It was apparent when Embiid went down with his injury, but the setback didn’t take him off the floor on Saturday. As Embiid pushed through the pain and attempted to will the Sixers to a win over the Timberwolves, the big man was admittedly in pain after the loss.

After getting diagnosed with a mid-foot sprain, Embiid was automatically ruled out for Philadelphia’s next two matchups on Tuesday against the Brooklyn Nets and on Wednesday against the Charlotte Hornets. As it turns out, Embiid will make it three in a row this week.

When the Sixers return to the court on Friday night to face the Orlando Magic, Embiid will miss the matchup as he was ruled out as early as Thursday night.

The Sixers have yet to reveal a timetable for return for the big man. For the time being, Embiid is day-to-day. It’s unclear if he’ll return this week or not, but the earliest Embiid could return to the floor is on Sunday, when the Sixers play in a rematch against the Magic on the road. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.