The Philadelphia 76ers will once again be without star center Joel Embiid as they begin a back-to-back road set against the New Orleans Pelicans.
On Friday afternoon, the team announced that Embiid met with doctors and was cleared to continue participating in on-court activities. However, his status for Saturday night remained uncertain.
Later that evening, Embiid was officially listed as OUT due to right knee injury management and right shin soreness.
For a while, it seemed Embiid was turning a corner, playing in 14 of 17 games in January, taking only scheduled absences in games that were part of back-to-back matchups. Embiid then missed Philadelphia’s final two games before the All-Star break with right knee injury management.
The team informed media members on Wednesday that Embiid reported shin soreness during the break. That same designation held him out of the team’s loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday.
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said he did not expect Embiid to miss significant time, but added that if Thursday's game were a playoff matchup, Embiid likely would have played.
Embiid will now miss his fourth straight game as the Sixers begin a back-to-back road set in New Orleans. There is a chance he could return Sunday against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Philadelphia enters Saturday’s matchup looking to snap a three-game losing streak.
Unless otherwise stated, all stats included in this article are via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass, Basketball Reference or Team Rankings. All salary information via Spotrac.
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