Sixers' Joel Embiid Resumes Basketball Activities, No Return Set Yet
Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid was having one of the healthiest seasons in his career leading up to the All-Star break. Although he had a few nagging setbacks, which kept him off the court every now and then, there wasn't a point where he missed consecutive matchups this year.
That all changed a couple of weeks ago when the four-time All-Star injured his knee on an aggressive dunk attempt against the Washington Wizards. After having an awkward landing, Embiid hyperextended his knee and remained on the ground for a little before eventually getting helped up by the Sixers' medical staff.
To no surprise, Embiid went straight to the locker room and never returned to the court. The injury looked severe at first, but the 76ers were optimistic that Embiid wasn't dealing with anything too significant. As it turns out, that was the case.
Although he was guaranteed to miss games, an MRI revealed no structural damage to Embiid's knee as he was diagnosed with a bruise. Considering it looked like Embiid might've suffered a season-ending injury in live time, a bruise was the best-case scenario for the 76ers.
Unfortunately, it was a deep bruise, and Embiid was set to miss at least two week's worth of games. On Saturday, Embiid was re-evaluated by Philly's medical staff and received positive news. According to a team source, Embiid has continued to progress well through his rehabilitation program.
At this point, the All-Star has resumed on-court basketball activities and is beginning to ramp up his conditioning. Getting back to working on basketball activities and conditioning is surely a good sign, but there's no return in sight for Embiid just yet.
Right now, the Sixers are gearing up for a fourth-straight road game. With two more road trips on the schedule, it's unclear if Embiid will be back in action anytime before the team returns to Philly early next month.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_ & Instagram: @JGrassoNBA.
