Joel Embiid played through the final three games of Philadelphia’s first-round series win with an injured thumb, but now, a new injury has knocked him out indefinitely with the Eastern Conference semifinals around the corner.
The 76ers MVP candidate is out with no timetable for a return after suffering a right orbital fracture and concussion during the team’s series-clincher in game six in Toronto, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Embiid took an elbow to the face with four minutes to go in the fourth quarter of game six, with Philly putting the finishing touches on a blowout victory in Toronto.
Embiid will be sorely missed as the Sixers get set to take on the Heat and Bam Adebayo in the second round.
For Embiid, his injury is the latest in an unfortunate run of playoff luck. He fractured his other orbital bone in 2018, battled knee injuries in 2019 and last season, and had been struggling with a torn ligament in his thumb before this most recent injury.
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