Philadelphia 76ers' Al Horford Questionable Against Boston Celtics

Thursday night is set to be a tough game for Philadelphia 76ers veteran big man, Al Horford. As the longtime center/forward has spent his last few seasons donning a Boston Celtics uniform defending the fort at TD Garden Arena, he will return for the first time on Thursday night as a member of the Sixers.

This isn't the first time Horford will face his former team this season. Back in October, the former Celtic had the opportunity to quickly get the awkwardness of playing some of his old teammates out his system as the Sixers opened up the season against the Celtics.

However, that game wasn't in Boston. Instead, the Sixers hosted the Celtics on their home court at the Wells Fargo Center. Horford rang in the new year by hammering the Sixers' bell before tip-off and received a hero's welcome by the crowd in South Philly.

This time around, the reception from the crowd might not be as kind, depending on how Celtics fans are feeling. There's no guarantee that Horford gets welcomed with cheers in Boston. But there's also no guarantee that he gets booed either.

Perhaps, Horford might not even get a chance to find out. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer's Keith Pompey, the Sixers' star center/forward is Questionable for his first return to TD Garden on Thursday night with two separate injuries.

Left knee soreness and hamstring tightness have frequently set the Sixers back this season. Aside from missing a couple of games because of load management, Horford has been one of the reliable ones for the Sixers.

But it seems his non-injury luck might've run out though. While Horford would probably love to push through the injury and battle against his former team, the Sixers could very well take the logical route and sit the veteran on Thursday.

A Sixers' spokesperson mentioned last week that Josh Richardson's injury would take some time to heal up because they are being extra careful with soft-tissue injuries this early on in the year. Considering the importance of Horford in the Sixers' lineup, risking multiple injuries in mid-December doesn't seem like a good idea -- but we'll see just how severe the setback is when Philly makes their final decision later on tonight.