Joel Embiid Discusses Recent Injury After Return vs. Pistons

After a three-game absence, Joel Embiid returned to the court on Tuesday night.

The Philadelphia 76ers got a key reinforcement on Tuesday night as Joel Embiid was cleared for action after being listed as questionable on the injury report.

Last Monday, the star center went down with a foot injury during the second half of the Sixers’ matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans. While Embiid fought through the pain and finished the game without any setbacks, he missed the team’s next matchup against the Indiana Pacers due to foot soreness.

The trend would continue as the Sixers hosted the Chicago Bulls last Friday before paying a visit to the Detroit Pistons on Sunday. Ahead of Tuesday’s rematch with the Pistons, Embiid was upgraded to questionable. After going through morning shoot-around and pregame warmups, the big man was cleared for action. 

Embiid checked in for 24 minutes on Tuesday night. It was unclear if Embiid was supposed to have a minutes restriction or not in his first game back, but the All-Star would get the night off early as the Sixers cruised to a blowout victory over the rebuilding and shorthanded Pistons.

After the matchup, the big man talked about his latest setback, comparing it to the mid-foot sprain he suffered earlier in the year.

“The one that I had earlier in the year when I landed on someone’s foot, I don’t know if I did the same thing, but it’s about the same thing,” said Embiid. “I just got to manage it and basically go based on pain and stuff.”

Embiid’s injury wasn’t severe enough to keep him off the court long-term. However, he had doubts about whether or not he would’ve been able to play had the last few games been playoff matchups rather than regular season matchups in January.

“Based on when it happened, I don’t think I would’ve been able to play,” Embiid admitted. “I’m still not fully, but that’s just something you got to manage. Over time, it’s going to be fine. The thing with me is, I just want to play. It doesn’t matter if I’m hurt or not. If I can walk, I want to play. Over the past few seasons, since I got to the league, I missed my first really three seasons. So, I just want to be on the court as much as possible and enjoy it.” 

Embiid missed time on four different occasions this season. During three of those instances, Embiid missed at least three games. When he missed a four-game stretch back in November, Embiid was recovering from a mid-foot sprain, which he suffered on November 19 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. After returning to the floor five games later, Embiid was available for the next 16 games. 

Is another healthy stretch in store for the big man after a three-game layover? Only time will tell. But it doesn’t sound like Embiid intends to take any days off unless he deals with another setback moving forward.

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