Philadelphia 76ers just can’t catch a break. It seemed like “The Process” was finally paying off when the team clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2012, but now their best player Joel Embiid suffered an orbital fracture and will require a surgery. Embiid was injured by his own teammate Markelle Fultz in the second quarter of 76ers win against the New York Knicks and could be out for two to four weeks. Besides orbital fracture, Embiid also suffered a concussion and was put in the NBA’s concussion protocol.
Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown spoke about Embiid with the media on Friday, saying that he doesn’t know how long the 24-year-old center will be sidelined.
“After the swelling goes down and whenever the operation happens, we’ll all have a better feeling of accurate news. Right now we don’t have any information.” – said Brown.
Brown also revealed that he has talked several times with his young star and that Embiid is “just disappointed” about the injury.
“The beauty of FaceTime,” – said the 76ers’ coach. “He’s just disappointed. He’s come through a lot. We need to help him — the team. Buy some time, continue to play good basketball. We all talk about how much we need Joel from a basketball standpoint and this is true. He needs his team now.“
Injury of Joel Embiid couldn’t come at a worse moment for the 76ers. They are currently fighting to keep the home court advantage in the playoffs and remain as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.
