Philadelphia 76ers: Joel Embiid Finally Undergoes Knee Surgery

Sidelined since Jan. 27, the Philadelphia 76ers have finally announced that Joel Embiid has undergone knee surgery.

After nearly two months of indecision, the Philadelphia 76ers have finally announced that center Joel Embiid has undergone knee surgery.

Sidelined since Jan. 27, Embiid initially hurt his left knee on Jan. 20 in a home game against the Portland Trail Blazers following a driving dunk that saw him land awkwardly. Here is the incident in question:

Following the Blazers game, head coach Brett Brown explained the situation:

"“The review is that he hyperextended his left knee. There was a minor tweak again, and for precautionary reasons only, the doctors did not allow him to return. There will be more information given as we know it. But quickly, that’s what we know.”"

With that in mind, Embiid missed the Sixers’ next game the following night against the Atlanta Hawks, as he was not yet able to participate in back-to-back contests. Following the Hawks game, coach Brown announced that Embiid would miss the Sixers’ next two games against the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Clippers.

At this stage, Embiid’s knee injury was being listed as a contusion. And despite being listed as questionable, Embiid played what turned out to be his final game for the season. In just 28 minutes of action, Embiid registered 32 points, seven rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks in a narrow home loss to the Houston Rockets.

Embiid’s highlights from this game can be seen below:

Following the Rockets’ game, Embiid missed the ensuing game before Brown announced that he would miss another three games with what the Sixers were still classifying as a left knee contusion. Brown added:

"“There’s no red flags here. It’s just us going overboard, making sure we’re doing the right thing with what all learning is a very important person in our program.”"

Brown’s comments above were made on Jan. 30.

Unfortunately, three games turned into five games, and then seven games, before Brown updated Embiid’s situation on Feb. 8:

"“It is taking so long because we are just erring, we will err on extreme caution….He is a competitive, competitive, highly skilled young player. So that side of it factors into all of this too….But it shouldn’t be read into or assumed something is wrong because it isn’t. Everybody understands I think, we’ve heard it so much over the years, that we’re just moving slowly and trying to move wisely.”"

However, the revelation three days after Brown’s latest comments by Derek Bodner of DerekBodner.com would cause much embarrassment for the Sixers’ front office. Bodner revealed that an MRI was undertaken following the initial incident on January 20 which revealed a torn meniscus in his left knee. Despite the finding, Embiid was cleared to take to the court just SEVEN DAYS later.

Following this finding, Sixers’ president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo addressed the matter:

"“On the MRI that was conducted shortly after the injury vs. Portland, the MRI revealed obviously what we thought it to be — a bone bruise….There was also the recognition that there was a very minor meniscal tear. But it was not thought to be acute and it was not thought to be the source of the pain, inflammation or symptoms. That is the case.”"

On Embiid’s future movements at the time, Colangelo added:

"“… it’s more than likely we’ll hold him back until the end of the All-Star break, because that gives us the clearest path to a number of days where he can progress toward full health and recovery.”"

Colangelo’s statements were made on Feb. 11. The Sixers’ first game following the All-Star break scheduled for Feb. 24 against the Washington Wizards. However just prior to the Wizards’ game, the Sixers announced that Embiid would miss the first four games after the break to risk further aggravation of the injury.

Understandably, Embiid was unimpressed with the Sixers for the constant updates in the media about his condition:

"“I wasn’t too happy with the way it was kind of handled before. I saw the day-to-day part. I was told that I was going to miss at least two or three weeks. So I wasn’t happy with the way it was handled.”"

However just days later, the Sixers announced that Embiid would now be sidelined indefinitely due to swelling and soreness in his left knee. Colangelo explained the sudden change in diagnosis:

"“With respect to what’s developed over the last couple of days, it’s quite simple, Joel developed a little bit of swelling and soreness. We’re reacting in a way that’s proactive. We wanted to be more communicative with our fans. We wanted to make sure that there’s less question about whether or not he would be available. This is literally changing out for the next two games now to out indefinitely.”"

It’s no coincidence these comments came just days after Embiid publicly expressed his displeasure at the Sixers’ front office and its handling of his status.

But to top it all off, just days after this latest declaration from Colangelo, the Sixers finally announced that Embiid would miss the rest of the season. According to Sixers’ team doctor, Dr. Jonathan Glashow, Embiid’s initial bone bruised had improved but the meniscus tear “was more pronounced than in recent scans.”

With that diagnosis in mind, Embiid’s initial return to the court in January — just one week after his awkward landing against the Trail Blazers — immediately springs to mind. Why rush him back in? How was he cleared to take the court after we subsequently found out that the MRI following the Blazers game revealed a tear in the meniscus?

Following from comments above, Glashow also added:

"“We will continue to work with leading specialists to gather additional information through clinical examination and sequential testing to determine the best course of action and next steps.”"

Glashow’s comments were made on Mar. 1, with the team doctor and the front office still inconclusive as to how best to manage Embiid’s situation. The word surgery had not been mentioned.

A couple of weeks following this latest development, the Sixers embarked on a four-game, west coast road trip. It was then revealed that while travelling with the team on the trip, Embiid and the Sixers consulted with another specialist in San Diego.

With all the uncertainty and speculation surrounding the potential rookie of the year, ESPN’s Marc Stein was the first to report that Embiid was very likely to require knee surgery.

Sensing the need to address the matter once and for all, the Sixers finally declared Embiid was booked in for surgery. Following the surgery, Sixers’ Director of Public Relations Michael Preston released the following statement:

"“The surgery addressed a meniscus tear in the big man’s left knee. It focused on the removal of a small portion of his meniscus that was believed to be responsible for his symptoms. He is estimated to return to full weight-bearing activities in roughly two weeks, and a conservative approach going forward will be introduced from there.”"

Hopefully for Sixers fans, this will end a season of frustration from an injury point of view. Along with Embiid, the Sixers No.1 overall pick, Ben Simmons, missed his entire rookie campaign with a foot injury. That also brought with it a series of varying diagnostic outlooks.

Next: 10 Matchups We Want To See In The 2017 NBA Playoffs

So with the return to full health of Embiid and Simmons, and potentially two top-four picks in this years upcoming draft, there is still plenty of reason for all involved with the 76ers to be highly optimistic for the commencement of next season.