Embiid Update II – Exit Surgery Enter Sports Science

Oct 8, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center

(center) wearing plain clothes and a boot congratulates teammates as they walk to the bench on a timeout during the second half of a game against the Charlotte Hornets at the Wells Fargo Center. The 76ers defeated the Hornets 106-92. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Embiid Update II – Exit Surgery Enter Sports Science

Joel Embiid is fine now.  He had successful surgery on his foot and tweeted afterwards that everything went very well.  Now that he’s on the road to recovery, it’s an excellent opportunity to discuss the history of Joel Embiid’s injury.

I’m not a medical doctor.  I’m not even a physical therapist.  But I’m familiar enough with some health care terminology to take a stab at laying out what lays ahead for our beloved Joel Embiid.

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One week before the 2014 draft, our Cameroonian center suffered a stress fracture in the navicular bone in his right foot — a tiny bone in the middle of the foot that’s essential in proper weight transfer and force absorption during ground impact.  This is an injury that is quite similar to the multiple injuries suffered by former NBA

which eventually forced him to retire.  It’s also similar to that of

, who endured three separate surgeries before healing enough to play the strenuous game of NBA basketball for ten years. The initial surgery happened just before the 2014 NBA draft, and even forearmed with that knowledge Embiid became the selection of the Philadelphia 76ers at three.  General manager Sam Hinkie had no hesitation selecting Embiid, stashing him for a year, and bringing him in to play in the 2015 season, just as he had stashed

the previous year.  But plans go astray, even though the team had treated Embiid gingerly.  He was not asked to join the team throughout the year and was virtually pain free and mobile for weeks prior to the summer league.  But something was amiss. When asked, Bob Cooney who reports for the Philadelphia Daily News admitted:

"“From what the sources told me, it’s broken again. Absolutely, you have to be nervous about it. Then this next surgery will be very interesting, find out exactly what they’ll go in and do. Hopefully the Sixers will come out and speak of it after it is done.”"

But as has been the case concerning Joel Embiid, not all the information seems to be forthcoming.

Next: Sam Hinkie Speaks