According to ESPN, Philadelphia 76ers player Joel Embiid suffered a bone bruise on his left knee in Friday’s victory over the Washington Wizards and might likely miss two weeks.
Embiid fell hard on his left knee after a dunk and lay on the court for several minutes. A crowd of players surrounded Embiid, who was being attended to by team trainer Kevin Johnson.
He finally limped to the dressing room on his own, according to The Athletic.
Embiid has been a strong contender for the Kia MVP award this season. But his delayed second-half debut was marred by a frightening crash that caused him to hyperextend his left knee.
As per ESPN and The Philadelphia Inquirer, MRI showed no internal damage.
Joel Embiid is out with a left knee bone bruise. He will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) March 13, 2021
Embiid and Tobias Harris ran a two-person game on the right wing with 6 1/2 minutes left in the third period; a give-and-go screen-and-roll that left the Sixers’ middle with a straight path.
Embiid sprinted to the rim for a monster slam, beating out a bold but ineffective challenge from Garrison Mathews, who careened past the baseline.
Prayers answered 🙏🏽🙏🏽 Get healthy brother @JoelEmbiid https://t.co/EoNJSz8wv3
— Tobias Harris (@tobias31) March 13, 2021
As Embiid landed, his left leg seemed to bend downward, and the7-footer crumpled in agony as trainers rushed to the field. He finally returned to the locker room with 23 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and two blocks in just 20 minutes.
“He just dropped awkwardly,” Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers said after the loss.
“When he went up to dunk the ball, I figured there was some touch. I assumed he had lost his balance and had fallen.”
Joel Embiid just came back after his mandatory quarantine
After skipping the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday and the 76ers’ first game on Thursday, Embiid returned to play on Friday. It was due to COVID-19 touch-tracing procedures.
He stayed in quarantine for the past seven days and got a lab-based PCR negative result earlier Friday. Likewise, the four-time All-Star was in the starting lineup at Washington, marking his seventh straight day with negative checks.
However, his Teammate and All-Star point guard Ben Simmons is yet to be cleared to return. For that, he will require one more day of clean tests in order by Saturday.
Early Sunday, Embiid and Simmons were both allegedly introduced to a barber in Philadelphia who tested positive for the coronavirus. When they arrived in Atlanta for All-Star weekend, neither player made touch with the other All-Stars.
Despite losing both Embiid and Simmons, the Sixers thrashed the Bulls 127-105 in their first game after the All-Star break on Thursday in Chicago.
In 30 games this season, Embiid, who turns 27 on Tuesday, has averaged 30.2 points and 11.6 rebounds. In 31 games, Simmons,24, has averaged 16.1 points; 7.9 rebounds, and 7.6 assists.
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