Nick Nurse shares positive update about Joel Embiid injury

Apr 16, 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) before game one of the first round for the 2022 NBA playoffs against the Toronto Raptors at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Philadelphia 76ers coach Nick Nurse on Wednesday shared a somewhat promising update on Joel Embiid’s injury recovery.

Nurse admitted the 76ers still are not putting a timetable on Embiid’s return as the star center works his way back from knee surgery. According to Nurse, however, there is a “very good likelihood” that Embiid will play again before the start of the playoffs.

Nick Nurse said there is still no timeline for Joel Embiid’s return and that he hasn’t met with him yet since returning from the road trip, but that they did talk on FaceTime.

Nurse also said that he thinks there is “a very good likelihood” that he returns before the playoffs

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The play-in tournament is slated to begin on April 16, with the full playoffs starting on April 20. That would suggest that Embiid is only a couple weeks away from possibly playing again. That puts him a little behind the late March estimate that some reports pointed to at the time of the procedure, but not significantly so.

Embiid has strongly suggested that he wants to play before the playoffs start. Getting him back up to game speed as much as possible would be beneficial to the Sixers, as he has not played since Jan. 30. Time is running out to make it happen, but the 76ers still sound optimistic that it will.