76ers’ Joel Embiid out with right knee soreness, will undergo further evaluation

The Philadelphia 76ers added Joel Embiid to their injury report with “right knee soreness” on Tuesday, ruling him out for their game against the Boston Celtics this evening. 76ers coach Nick Nurse told reporters that Embiid reported soreness in his right knee at the team’s shootaround Tuesday morning.

“He had some imaging on that this afternoon and doctors are here tonight to go over that with him,” Nurse said.

Embiid missed most of the last two years due to a left knee issue after tearing his meniscus midway through the 2023-24 season that required a followup scope last season after he was limited to just 19 games. Embiid and the Sixers were hopeful that procedure would clear up his issues and allow him to get back on the floor more regularly, but now he finds himself dealing with an issue with his right knee. 

“No expectations at all,” Nurse said when asked if Embiid could miss multiple games. “We are going to see what they say about the imaging.”

Embiid has injured his right knee before, suffering a right knee sprain during the 2023 Playoffs in the first round against the Brooklyn Nets that limited him going forward. 

This season, Embiid has appeared in six of the Sixers’ 10 games and averages 19.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while being limited to 20-25 minutes of action. Despite a cautious approach to his minutes load early in the season, he finds himself dealing with knee soreness once again.  The Sixers have held him out of back-to-backs, including their most recent game against Detroit, but his absence on Tuesday night raises new concerns, as it comes after two days off.

The 76ers are 6-4 on the season thanks to a sensational start from their young backcourt led by Tyrese Maxey and rookie VJ Edgecombe.