After a season severely limited by injury, Joel Embiid believes that he’ll need another surgery on his ailing left knee.
That’s according to ESPN’s Lisa Salters, who reported the news during Sunday’s game between Embiid’s Philadelphia 76ers and the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks won the game, 135-127. Salters said that she spoke with Embiid and that he told her about the anticipated operation.
“I asked Joel Embiid how that left knee feels, and he gave a really long pause,” Salters said. “He just said, ‘It is what it is.’ He said to still be talking about it and dealing with it almost a full year after when the injury first occurred, he said it’s been frustrating and the most difficult thing he’s ever had to go through in his career.
“He said he wishes he could play in every game, but his body just isn’t allowing him to do that right now. When the knee swells up, there’s nothing he can really do about it. …
“He said that he thinks that it will likely take another surgery and a long recovery period, something he didn’t have after the initial injury last February.”
The report didn’t mention a timeline for a potential surgery, but the implication with Embiid playing now is that it would take place in the offseason.
Embiid missed 43 games during the 2023-24 season, most of them after having surgery to repair the meniscus in his left knee in February. He returned for five regular-season games toward the end of the season and played in Philadelphia’s first-round playoff series against the New York Knicks. Embiid then played for Team USA in the Summer Olympics in Paris.
Then Embiid missed the first nine games of the NBA season due in part to what the 76ers cited as left knee injury management. He’s been in and out of the 76ers lineup since, but mostly out due to various ailments and suspension.
Embiid’s absences alongside those of Paul George have contributed to a disappointing 20-32 start. George has played in just 33 of Philadelphia’s games due to various injuries after arriving via an offseason trade from the Clippers. The 76ers hoped that George’s arrival to play alongside Embiid and fellow All-Star Tyrese Maxey would elevate Philadelphia into championship contention.
Instead, the 76ers are in 11th place in the East. And now it sounds like uncertainty will continue to reign around Embiid’s health beyond this season.
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