Much has been made of Joel Embiid’s load management throughout this NBA season. Embiid has frequently sat out games while dealing with soreness in his left knee, but with pressure to play in order to keep his MVP hopes alive, the center gutted it out on various occasions.
One week ago, it all came to a head, as he suffered an aggravation to the same knee after Jonathan Kuminga landed on it. The Sixers announced on Tuesday that Embiid underwent successful surgery to repair the lateral meniscus in the knee.
How long will Joel Embiid be out for with knee injury?
According to the team, Embiid “will be re-evaluated in approximately four weeks”. They will then determine the next steps in his recovery. The statement is quite vague, and doesn’t really give Sixers fans any type of hope going forward.
But according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the “best case” for Embiid is missing only one-to-two months. Charania had mentioned a full repair of the meniscus would constitute a much longer recovery, but it doesn’t sound like that’s the case, with the team claiming re-evaluation in just a month.
It’s possible the team shuts him down after those four weeks, but with the team in a playoff spot and Embiid willing to play through the pain, we could see him back right before the end of the regular season.
Meanwhile, Embiid’s dreams of winning the MVP award this season have been dashed. He was the favorite before going down with the injury.
