Joel Embiid's Playing Status vs. Mavericks on Friday

After being listed as questionable on the Thursday night injury report, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has been cleared for action against the Dallas

After being listed as questionable on the Thursday night injury report, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has been cleared for action against the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night.

Joel Embiid's back issues started on Monday night. During the second half of the matchup against the Denver Nuggets, the Sixers star drew a hard foul and took a big fall. Although he remained in the game, it was clear Embiid was sore.

He wrapped up the Monday night outing with 34 points in 36 minutes. After the game, Embiid didn't reveal any updates about his back, but he did mention that fatigue was beginning to set in as the final stretch of the regular season continues.

"It was tough," he said on Monday night. "Obviously, I played more than 40 minutes last night. I think this year, I really only missed two games other than those games because of COVID. I'm starting to feel it, but I gotta keep pushing."

Typically, Embiid's known to miss chunks of games throughout the season, but this year is different. Outside of a battle with COVID-19 back in November, Embiid's been healthier than ever and hasn't missed consecutive games.

The last time the All-Star center sat out was in late January when the Sixers took on the Memphis Grizzlies. At the time, the Sixers were holding Embiid out so he could gain some rest during the busy schedule.

Recently, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers mentioned that the team plans to rest  Embiid and his co-star James Harden at some points during the final stretch of the year, but Embiid's time hasn't come quite yet.

On Wednesday, the big man started in his 18th straight game despite battling back soreness. And going into Friday's game against the Dallas Mavericks he was listed on the injury report as questionable once again.

However, after participating in the team's morning shootaround and going through his pregame warmups, Embiid was feeling up for the challenge of playing once again on Friday night against the Mavericks.

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