Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid avoided major injury but the All-Star is sidelined for at least two weeks.
According to multiple reports, an MRI exam showed no structured damage. Embiid has a bone bruise in his left knee and won’t play for 2-3 weeks.
The news was positive from a team perspective as Philadelphia team officials feared a major knee injury that could end Embiid’s season.
Embiid left Friday’s game against the Washington Wizards and appeared to be in significant pain.
Embiid landed awkwardly on his left knee finishing a dunk in the third quarter and remained on the floor for several minutes. A number of players surrounded Embiid with team trainer Kevin Johnson tending to him. The Athletic reported that he eventually limped to the locker room under his own power.
The 76ers played without fellow All-Star Ben Simmons on Friday. Simmons remains in COVID-19 protocol.
Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers said postgame of Embiid, “He just fell awkwardly. I thought there was a little contact when he went up to dunk the ball. I thought he fell with his balance off.
“I’m not going to speculate. (Saturday) we’ll have all the information for you. I’m hoping for the best. I did talk to him; he was in the locker room. He was in pretty good spirits, so let’s just hope for the best.”
Embiid was back in action Friday after missing the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday and the 76ers’ first game after the break Thursday because of COVID-19 contact-tracing protocols.
The four-time All-Star was in the starting lineup at Washington after quarantining for the past seven days and receiving a lab-based PCR negative result earlier Friday, marking his seventh consecutive day of negative tests.
