Roughly five weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a meniscus injury, Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid is making positive progress toward returning to the court.
On Saturday, head coach Nick Nurse revealed that doctors were happy with Embiid’s progress during a re-evaluation scheduled for last week. He also confirmed that the plan is still for the reigning MVP to return to play before the end of the regular season.
“I still hope so, and I’m still pretty confident about it,” Nurse said via Derek Bodner from PHLY Sports.
Recently, word spread that Embiid had been participating in on-field drills as he continued his comeback. The nurse said he believed the “whispers” were true, but added he had not seen any footage to support them.
Embiid’s knee injury was a problem throughout the year, finally coming to a head when the 76ers announced he would undergo surgery. February 4. Since then, updates have been rare. Earlier this week, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne said Embiid wasn’t “anywhere nearby” to return but that he could participate in light training on the field.
“The hope they have in Philadelphia is that they can just stay in the mix for Joel Embiid to come back the last week or so of the season,” Shelburne said, “at least where he has a chance to find a little conditioning before the playoffs.”
The timetable set by Shelburne has Embiid returning around April 7 and Nurse’s update appears to keep the door open for that possibility. That would give him four games against the San Antonio Spurs, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic and Brooklyn Nets to ramp things up heading into the playoffs.
For Philly, Embiid’s return can’t come soon enough. Without him, the Sixers went a miserable 7-13, losing five of the last six games while falling to eighth in the Eastern Conference standings (36-30).
