Joel Embiid Injury Update, Latest on 76ers Star's Status After Comments on Playing in Back-to-Back

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid will miss Sunday's game against the Detroit Pistons.

The team ruled him out with plantar fasciitis management.

This comes after Embiid struck an optimistic tone about playing in the second part of Philly's back-to-back. He had 28 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in Saturday's 127-116 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

Following the game, the seven-time All-Star joked to reporters they should "put pressure" on the Sixers to give him the green light for Sunday:

The 2025-26 regular season was another injury-filled one for Embiid, who played just 38 games. He appeared in just 19 games last season and 39 in the year before.

It looked as if he'd be healthy in the playoffs, but he had an emergency appendectomy on April 9, just before the end of the regular season. Recovery from the surgery forced him to miss the first three games of the Sixers' opening-round series against the Boston Celtics, but he returned in Game 4 and helped Philadelphia close out the series in seven games.

Embiid had a monster Game 7 against Boston, posting 34 points, 12 boards and six assists.

Unfortunately, injuries struck again ahead of Game 2 against the New York Knicks in the second round. Embiid was ruled out of the matchup because of right hip soreness and a right ankle sprain. He was back for Game 3, but it wasn't enough to avoid a sweep.

The offseason additions of LeBron James and Jaylen Brown will lessen the reliance on Embiid in the regular season. VJ Edgecombe proved as a rookie he can shoulder some of the scoring and rebounding burden as well.

But the Sixers already lost backup center Ariel Hukporti for the season. That leaves Adem Bona as the primary option at the 5 whenever Embiid is unavailable.

Given the lack of depth at the position, Philly will probably remain very proactive in terms of managing Embiid's workload.