76ers star Joel Embiid to be held out of preseason due to left knee injury management

Joel Embiid’s preseason is over.

The Philadelphia 76ers announced on Sunday that Embiid will be held out of the rest of the preseason due to left knee injury management. Team doctors assessed Embiid on Thursday, according to NBC Sports’ John Clark. While they feel that he “is progressing well,” Embiid won’t take the court until the team’s season opener on Oct. 23.

Embiid appeared in just 39 games last season while dealing with the meniscus injury, which he first sustained in late January. He underwent surgery and was expected to miss six-to-eight weeks recovering. He returned in time for the playoffs, and he even dropped 50 points in Game 3 of their opening-round series against the New York Knicks, but the 76ers were knocked out in the first round. Embiid averaged 34.7 points and 11 rebounds per game.

Embiid joined Team USA during their gold medal run at the Olympics this past summer. He averaged 12 points and 3.8 rebounds per game in Paris. contract extension this past offseason, too.

He’s been working to manage his knee better throughout the offseason, as he has a history of knee injuries, and said he lost between 25 to 30 pounds to try and take stress off his knees. Embiid did not go with the 76ers to their preseason game against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Iowa on Friday or against the Celtics in Boston on Saturday. He was expected to be a limited participant throughout the preseason this fall, though he only appeared in one preseason game last year.

The 76ers went 47-35 last season and made the playoffs for the seventh straight campaign, though the franchise still has not made it to the Eastern Conference finals since the 2000-01 season. They’ve had a busy offseason to try and end that drought, too, adding Paul George in free agency while retaining both Kelly Oubre Jr. and Kyle Lowry. Tyrese Maxey inked a long-term deal alongside Embiid’s extension, too.

Despite all of those moves, however, Embiid is still the centerpiece for the 76ers. If they are going to finally make a deep postseason run, Embiid staying healthy all season will be critical.