How hard have injuries hit Joel Embiid this season? When he misses Friday night’s game against Charlotte, he will already officially become ineligible for postseason awards (it will be his 18th game missed, meaning he can’t get to 65 played, the NBA’s award cutoff).
Embiid is officially out for Monday night’s Philly game in Charlotte due to a sinus fracture and he will be reevaluated in one week, the team announced.
Embiid suffered the fracture when the Pacers’ Bennedict Mathurin incidentally struck him in the face going for a rebound.
Joel Embiid got up and walked to the locker room with a few seconds left to play in the first half, was hit in the face by the arm of Bennedict Mathurin here. pic.twitter.com/2gLajNwgny
— Erin Grugan (@eringrugan) December 14, 2024
Embiid has taken a lot of grief this season — and the league investigated the 76ers — because he was missing time due to the vague “left knee injury management.” That’s fair. But the people calling him soft for this miss the mark — he got hit in the face and a bone fractured. That’s a legit injury. It’s the third time Embiid has suffered a facial fracture in his career.
Embiid is averaging 22 points and 8.4 rebounds a game when he has played this season, including dropping 31 on the Bulls recently.
The 76ers also will be without standout rookie Jared McCain against the Hornets, he is out indefinitely with a torn left meniscus. Caleb Martin also remains out with a shoulder injury.
