Joel Embiid Dodges 76ers’ Injury Report vs. Jazz

After tweaking his foot against the Thunder, Joel Embiid is on pace to play the Jazz.

During the second half of the Philadelphia 76ers’ Thursday night matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder, All-Star big man Joel Embiid was seen grabbing at his foot.

That wasn’t a great sight, considering Embiid recently missed a handful of games due to foot soreness. After the Sixers came up short of the Thunder, Embiid revealed that he tweaked his foot against the Thunder on Thursday.

“Just tweaked my foot again,” Embiid said, downplaying the scene. “It’s fine.”

While Embiid left some uncertainty when asked whether or not he could miss time moving forward, it seems the big man is truly going to be fine.

When the Sixers released their injury report on Friday night for Saturday’s battle against the Utah Jazz, Joel Embiid was not listed. That’s a good sign, proving the big man should be available when the Sixers face the Jazz for the second and final time this season. 

Throughout the year, Embiid struggled with several minor setbacks. When he missed his first game on October 28, it was due to knee soreness. While he played in the next matchup, a battle with the flu two games later took Embiid off the floor for a three-game stretch.

After returning for six-straight games, Embiid suffered a mid-foot sprain on November 19 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. As a result, he missed four games. Coming back for 16 games, Embiid had an outstanding stretch, averaging 34 points, ten rebounds, and five assists. Unfortunately, foot soreness halted his hot streak for three games.

Since returning to the floor on January 10, Embiid appeared in the Sixers’ last two games. The big man didn’t look like he lost a step, as he averaged 33 points while draining 60 percent of his shots. While his foot is still something to monitor, it seems Embiid’s latest setback won’t keep him off the court.

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