Concerning update emerges about Joel Embiid’s knee injury

Nov 27, 2019; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) warms up before action against the Sacramento Kings at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Joel Embiid is missing a fourth straight game to start the new NBA season, and the latest update about his knee injury is not all that encouraging.

Sam Amick and Joe Vardon of The Athletic shared a notable update on Wednesday about the Philadelphia 76ers star Embiid’s left knee. The report states that, though Embiid did not suffer a new injury while competing in the Paris Olympics, his knee is “unstable enough” that there was concern about further damage had Embiid played to start the NBA regular season.

The ex-NBA MVP Embiid remains sidelined with what the 76ers are calling “left knee injury management.” The NBA recently opened an investigation into Embiid’s playing status and found that he is indeed dealing with an actual injury (though they still handed a big fine to the 76ers over their public comments about Embiid’s situation).

Now 30 years old, Embiid has a long history of lower-body injuries. He first battled a meniscus injury to his left knee back in 2017, which resulted in an early end to his season and the need for offseason surgery. Embiid then tore the meniscus in the same left knee this past January and had to undergo another surgery on it (but returned to play for the 76ers in April and for Team USA at the Olympics that summer).

As a seven-footer with the injury history that he has, it is definitely not a good sign that Embiid’s knee is still showing signs of instability. That probably explains why Embiid recently made a stunning claim about his future workload.