Bad news, Sixers fans: it looks like Joel Embiid won’t play basketball until the 2016 season at the earliest. The No. 3 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft will reportedly need another surgery on his injured right foot, and it is expected that the surgery will keep him out for all of the upcoming season, according to Philly.com.
The 7-footer will have a second surgery after the latest setback in the healing of his right foot, according to several NBA sources. The team will decide whether to have it in North Carolina or at the New York Hospital of Special Surgery
“I would say there’s a great possibility that Embiid won’t play next year,” the source said. “Just think how long they sat him when they thought he was healthy.”
The Sixers are planning as if Embiid won’t play this season, sources say. Another source said the franchise is concerned that this setback could be career-threatening.
A report came out last month which said that a “setback” could possibly lead to Embiid missing all of the 2015-16 season. The former Kansas star suffered a stress fracture in his right foot just days before the 2014 Draft, which led to him falling to Philadelphia at No. 3. He sat out all of last season, but established himself as one of the game’s most entertaining off the court, mostly thanks to his spectacular Twitter account.
Fortunately for Philadelphia, the Sixers are pretty well-equipped to handle another Embiid-less year. The squad has a pretty solid, albeit young, frontcourt in Nerlens Noel and 2015 first-round pick Jahlil Okafor. While neither of them possess the natural talent and two-way ability that Embiid does, Noel is already one of the best defensive basketball players on earth, while Okafor has the most refined offensive low-post game of any incoming rookie in a while.
Recovering from this injury is pretty hit-or-miss – some guys have gone on to have pretty long careers after suffering from it, while others have seen their career come to an abrupt end – so it’s hard to know what the future has in store for Embiid. Hopefully he recovers and has a full NBA career, because when Embiid is healthy, he’s awesome.
(via Philly.com)
