Joel Embiid will not play on Thursday night against the Knicks due to a left shoulder injury he suffered on Wednesday night in Cleveland, according to Adrian Wojnarowski. Further evaluations will be conducted, which includes an MRI on Thursday.
Philly Inquirer's Keith Pompey reports "Embiid has either an AC sprain or an SC sprain" and depending on the grade his recovery time could be anywhere from approximately one to four weeks.
Norvel Pelle will return from upper respiratory infection on Thursday to help replace Embiid.
Embiid left the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first quarter on Wednesday night with a left shoulder injury, and after briefly re-appearing on the bench, was ruled out. The Sixers went on to suffer a brutal 14-point loss to the lowly Cavs.
Embiid was clearly in a ton of pain after the collision:
Sixers say Joel Embiid has a shoulder sprain and will not returnAre you kidding me? Damn.Philly keeps gettin hit with injuriespic.twitter.com/eGqgu1xjnE
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) February 27, 2020The Sixers are already without their other all-star point guard Ben Simmons, who is suffering from a back injury and will be re-evaluated in two weeks. Losing Embiid, along with Simmons, for an extended period of time could be detrimental for Philadelphia.
At 36-23, the Sixers are currently 5th in the Eastern Conference, 0.5 games back of the Heat and just 1.5 games ahead of the Pacers.
