Joel Embiid's Playing Status vs. Miami Heat

Lately, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid hasn't dealt with any setbacks. As the All-Star center is typically one to battle through minor and sometimes significant injuries, the big man has managed to keep his body right as of late.

Earlier in the year, Embiid battled through knee soreness after making contact with another player during the first game of the season. He played in six-straight games before missing his first outing.

After missing one game, Embiid played in the next three matchups. Unfortunately, his trend of staying healthy and avoiding missing consecutive matchups ended in early November.

As the Sixers dealt with an early COVID-19 outbreak, Embiid was among four Sixers who tested positive for the virus. When he went out, Embiid admitted he had bad symptoms, which kept him off the floor for a while.

Embiid went on to miss nine-straight games. He returned to the floor on November 27. Although the big man was clearly not his best self as his return to peak condition was an uphill battle, he stayed on the floor for eight-straight games.

After eventually missing a matchup on December 13, Embiid returned for the next game and hasn't missed a game since. 

Will the Trend Continue?

When the Sixers released their earliest injury report on Saturday afternoon following a Friday night matchup against the Boston Celtics, Embiid wasn't listed.

However, that changed a couple of hours before Philadelphia was scheduled to tip-off against the Miami Heat.

The Sixers added Embiid to the injury report and listed him as questionable. Per the team, Embiid's dealing with elbow soreness. 

After going through pregame warmups, the four-time All-Star felt good to play. According to a team official, Embiid is available and starting in Saturday's game.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.