The sound you just heard was the entire city of Philadelphia breathing a huge sigh of relief. According to multiple media reports, Joel Embiid, who hyperextended his left knee on Friday night in the Philadelphia 76ers’ 127-101 win over the Washington Wizards, managed to avoid any major structural damage that would potentially put him on the sideline for an extended period of time.
Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN bring word that Embiid only suffered a bone bruise in his left knee, while his meniscus and various ligaments are all fine.
ESPN Sources with @ramonashelburne: Philadelphia Sixers star Joel Embiid's MRI showed no structural damage to his left knee, just a bone bruise. ACL and meniscus are fine. No timeline yet on a return.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 13, 2021
Shams Charania of The Athletic then provided a timetable, saying that Embiid is not expected to miss any more than a few weeks as he recovers from the injury.
76ers MVP candidate Joel Embiid is expected to miss 2-to-3 weeks with a bone bruise in his left knee, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 13, 2021
Whether or not the Sixers, which sit in first place in the Eastern Conference by one game ahead of the Brooklyn Nets, opt to give Embiid extra time to rest and recover is a separate question, but seeing as how he was on the ground in serious pain when he went down, the fact that he’ll only miss a few weeks is a gigantic boost for the team. Embiid has arguably been the MVP frontrunner this season, averaging 29.9 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.4 blocks, and 1.2 steals in 32.6 minutes per game this season.
