NBA Rumors: 76ers' Joel Embiid Out at Least 4 Weeks After Surgery on Knee Injury

Philadelphia 76ers superstar center is reportedly expected to miss at least a month of action with a knee injury.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Tuesday that Embiid will be re-evaluated in approximately four weeks after undergoing a procedure on the meniscus in his left knee.

Wojnarowski reported that Embiid's recovery will be "paramount," and that "there continues to be a belief that the door isn't closed" for him to return at some point this season.

The 2022-23 MVP suffered a torn meniscus during a loss to the Golden State Warriors on Jan. 30 and required surgery. That made his health a primary storyline for the 76ers, who entered the campaign with championship hopes in large part because of his presence in the frontcourt.

"I'm told that the hope is that Embiid misses one to two months," Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported on Monday. "That's the best-case, minimum scenario."

However, he also said, "if a full repair is needed in surgery, that's going to be a significantly longer recovery time period."

While Embiid is among the best players in the league when healthy, injuries have been a concern throughout his career. He missed his first two years in the league after he was the No. 3 overall pick of the 2014 NBA draft, and he is yet to play in more than 68 games in a season.

The knee setback was all the more difficult because he was once again playing at an MVP level with per-game averages of 35.3 points, 11.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.8 blocks while shooting 53.3 percent from the field and 36.6 percent from deep.

Philadelphia has Paul Reed and Mo Bamba down low and can rely on Tyrese Maxey to carry the offense, but it likely won't have enough firepower to compete with the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks and other top teams in the playoffs unless Embiid is healthy and on the floor.