Sixers Receive Positive News Regarding Joel Embiid's Injury

PHILADELPHIA, PA -- One of Joel Embiid's goals for this season was to remain healthy so he could play the majority of the year. Unfortunately, the Sixers' big man hasn't been able to do that. After suffering multiple injuries, with a torn ligament in his hand being the most notable to date, Embiid has missed 17 games this season.

Just a week ago, Embiid was finally able to shake his hand splint after playing with it for a handful of games. And just as the Sixers' center was beginning to get into a rhythm with his health, another injury came about and stripped him from making any progress moving forward at the moment.

Two nights after dropping a career-high of 49 points at home against Atlanta, Embiid looked to follow up with a big game on the road versus the Cavaliers. Just eight minutes into the matchup, though, Embiid found himself in pain as he constantly grabbed at his shoulder following a collision with his opponent.

After failing to knock down any of his two free throws, the Sixers managed to get Embiid off the floor as he ran straight towards the locker room. Though Embiid made it back to the bench, it wouldn't be long before he was called into the back once again to get an X-ray on his shoulder.

The initial diagnosis for Embiid on Wednesday night was a shoulder sprain. After ruling him out for Thursday's game against the New York Knicks, the Sixers' medical team ran further tests on the All-Star. While there's bad news attached to his diagnosis, the good news is that Embiid's initial diagnosis of a sprained shoulder is correct, and there's no structural damage. The bad news, however, is that Embiid's set to miss at least a week.

With a tough four-game west coast road trip coming up, the Sixers are surely going to have a tough time snapping their seven-game losing streak away from home without Ben Simmons and Embiid involved. At this point, though, the Sixers' main focus is going to keeping their stars healthy and making sure they are one-hundred percent before the postseason rolls around.

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