Sixers injuries: Nurse optimistic Embiid won’t miss extended time with sinus fracture

He may have already missed 18 of Philadelphia’s first 24 games but the Sixers are optimistic Joel Embiid won’t be out much longer.

Speaking with the media, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse got the impression this facial fracture isn’t as bad as the other two fractures Embiid has endured in the past.

“The only thing that I can compare it to, but I wasn’t here, but he certainly had those other ones that were a lot worse,” Nurse said. “It’s not nearly as severe as those two from what they tell me. So I guess that’s good because those were pretty tough — those two — and they say it’s not as bad as that.”

Injury history

Embiid first suffered a facial fracture back in 2018, a left orbital bone fracture when he collided with then teammate Markelle Fultz which also resulted in a concussion. He missed 10 games in total, eight in the regular season and two in the playoffs.

The second came in 2022, when Pascal Siakam inadvertently elbowed him in a first-round playoff series between the Toronto Raptors and Sixers. This resulted in a right orbital bone fracture, and Embiid was out for a week during which the Sixers played two playoff games. He played the remainder of the East semis against the Miami Heat with a mask.

Since getting drafted third overall in 2014, Embiid has missed at least 20 games in four seasons, including missing the first two seasons after getting drafted entirely. He missed 43 games last season and has already missed 18 this season, primarily due to recovering from surgery to repair the lateral meniscus in his left knee.

Return timeline

Considering the Sixers already confirmed Embiid will be re-evaluated in a week on Saturday, Dec. 14 and this injury isn’t believed to be as bad as the previous two, one would think it’s possible the 2022-23 MVP may play by Christmas.

Sixers injury updates

The team confirmed Tuesday that Jared McCain had a successful surgery to repair a lateral meniscus tear and he remains out indefinitely. McCain was looking a likely candidate to win Rookie of the Year, averaging 15.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists while shooting 38.3% from deep.