As reported by Shams Charania of ESPN, Joel Embiid experienced some “minor swelling” in his left knee during the preseason, prompting the Philadelphia 76ers to adopt a careful strategy regarding his participation this fall.
Although the former MVP has been engaged in scrimmages for the past few days, Friday’s practice was particularly significant as it involved a live five-on-five session with his teammates, rather than just drills with 76ers staff.
While it appears that Embiid’s time away from the court may not extend much beyond Saturday’s game, he hesitated to specify a target date for his return.
“It’s unpredictable,” the big man said. “You can have good days, you can have bad days, so I think it’d be kind of foolish for me to sit there and be like, ‘Oh, I’m playing on Tuesday,’ when you don’t know. I played today and it reacts, you’re still getting back into game shape, still getting back to yourself.
“You need to feel 100%, because I think over the years, I’ve done a lot and I’ve put myself at risk for the team, which I’m going to continue to do. But right now is the time to make sure everything is great, which is trending that way. It’s pretty good right now, everybody’s trending the right way, and so we can go on and have a long season and a great couple of years.”
Joel Embiid Discusses Knee Issue, Responds To Criticism https://t.co/1NRLuhtJ0P pic.twitter.com/q5mXb35TlI
— Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors) November 2, 2024
