Joel Embiid Injury Update: Sixers’ NBA All-Star Taken To Hospital After Collision With Markelle Fultz
On Wednesday night, Philadelphia fans worried over the latest Joel Embiid injury update after seeing the star center collide with his teammate. He was then taken to a hospital for further tests, which had plenty of fans in Philly concerned over his status with the NBA Playoffs approaching. Here’s the latest on Joel Embiid’s injury situation and whether he’ll be able to play again soon for the Philadelphia 76ers.
Earlier on Thursday morning, ESPN relayed the news of the recent collision during the 76ers’ game against the New York Knicks. Embiid and Fultz collided during the second quarter of the game, requiring the big man to miss the rest of the game as he would head to the hospital for tests. Later it was reported by the team that Embiid had suffered a facial contusion after the incident. His team still recorded a 118-101 victory without the All-Star center on the court for the entire second half.
The standard concussion protocol was performed for Embiid and revealed no concussion was sustained. In preliminary X-rays that were taken of Embiid, no fractures were revealed. Both of these seem to be positive news for the team, but his status is up in the air, and Embiid’s own post-game comment caused some more concern.
Adding to the worry over Embiid’s injury was a status update he gave via a story he posted to his Instagram with the caption, “Not good.”
The collision occurred just 20 seconds into the second quarter when Markelle Fultz was trying to drive towards the hoop. During that drive, Fultz knocked heads with Embiid, accidentally, and the big man fell to the floor. After laying on the court for several minutes and then sitting up, Embiid was eventually taken back to the locker room with help.
While Embiid was injured during the collision, rookie guard Markelle Fultz came away unscathed. However, his teammate’s condition was on his mind as he gave comments about the in-game crash he was part of, and also tweeted out he was keeping him in his thoughts and prayers.
“I know I hit him, but I believe he is OK. My heart dropped. He’s a tough guy. All I can do is pray for him.”
Despite Embiid’s exit, it was another big win for Philadelphia with the regular season winding down. Wednesday’s victory over the Knicks was the team’s eighth-straight. Embiid finished with just five points and three rebounds during the eight minutes he was part of the game. His teammate Ben Simmons helped lead the way as he has done many times this season, finishing with 13 points, 10 assists, and eight rebounds. However, Dario Saric picked up much of the slack with Embiid out of the game, scoring a team-high 26 points and grabbing 14 rebounds to go with his five assists. J.J. Redick finished with 21 to contribute as well.
The Philadelphia 76ers are currently 44-30 with eight games left in the season. The team has already clinched a spot in the postseason, and currently has the No. 4 spot in the Eastern Conference, with the potential to move up ahead of Cleveland, depending on how their remaining games go.
Make it eight straight. #HereTheyCome
Highlights pres. by @ShopRiteStores https://t.co/QjrpxETzTU
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) March 29, 2018
Next up for the Philadelphia 76ers will be an away game at Phillips Arena on Friday night versus the Atlanta Hawks. As of right now, Embiid is listed as “day-to-day” on that game preview report via ESPN with more information likely to come as the game draws closer.
Injury update 3/29/18 (7:32 p.m.) – The Athletic‘s Derek Bodner tweeted that it’s looking like Embiid will be sidelined beyond the upcoming two-game road trip that the Sixers have starting with Friday’s game against the Hawks. The full extent of his injury is still unknown at this point.
