Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid suffers injury to lateral meniscus, team says
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia 76ers' superstar and reigning MVP Joel Embiid suffered an injury to his lateral meniscus in his left knee, the team announced on Thursday night.
The Sixers say an MRI after Tuesday's game vs. the Golden State Warriors and further evaluation over the last 24 hours revealed the injury.
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Embiid will be out through at least the weekend, the Sixers say. A treatment plan for Embiid will be finalized in the future and updates will follow.
Embiid suffered the injury in the fourth against the Warriors after Jonathan Kuminga fell on the 7-footer's left leg. He left the game with about four minutes remaining after scoring 14 points and limped to the locker room.
With missing Thursday night's game against the Utah Jazz, Embiid will miss his 13th game of the season, jeopardizing his chances of being eligible for a second straight MVP award. Embiid will also miss Saturday night's game against the Brooklyn Nets.
The Sixers' next game after the Nets will be Monday, Feb. 5 against the Dallas Mavericks.
When healthy, Embiid has been playing better than his 2022-23 MVP season. He's averaging a career-high 35.3 points per game, which leads the league, and assists at 5.7 per game.
Not Embiid's first meniscus injury
Unfortunately, Embiid is no stranger to playing through pain or various injuries throughout his career. He's fractured his orbital bone in his face and injured the navicular bone in his foot, among other ailments.
But a meniscus injury is something the big fella has dealt with three times in his career, including Thursday night's news.
During his rookie year in the 2016-17 season, Embiid underwent season-ending surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee.
Years later in the 2021 playoffs, Embiid suffered a small lateral meniscus tear in his right knee.
And in last year's playoffs, Embiid played through a sprained right knee that he suffered in the first round of the playoffs against the Nets.