Joel Embiid Could Miss Another Matchup vs. Brooklyn Nets

The Philadelphia 76ers are unsure about whether or not they’ll have their All-Star big man Joel Embiid on the court when they face the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night.

According to the Sixers’ injury report, Embiid is once again listed as questionable due to foot soreness. Wednesday marks the second-straight game Embiid is questionable before a matchup.

When the Sixers faced the Sacramento Kings over the weekend, Embiid was added to the injury report hours before the two teams tipped off. Although he was initially questionable, Embiid was downgraded to out before the Sixers collected their fifth-straight win over the Kings.

For the last few days, the Sixers have been off from games but returned to the practice court on Tuesday afternoon. Following the session, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers mentioned that Embiid was not a participant while leaving uncertainty about his playing status against Brooklyn.

“He didn’t go — he was here, but he didn’t go,” said Rivers. “We did a lot of skeleton work… Walkthrough stuff. I don’t know [if he’ll play]. It’s day-to-day. We’ll see how he progresses and how he looks tomorrow. Not really [concerned he re-aggravated it]. I mean, it’s in the same vein. We just want to make sure it’s right. [If it’s right] he plays. If not, then you wait another game and see where he’s at.”

Embiid back on the court putting in some work after practice today #Sixers pic.twitter.com/Xh8HM18edJ
— Justin Grasso (@JGrasso_) January 24, 2023

For what it’s worth, Embiid did take the court following practice to participate in a mini-session with Sixers’ assistants. He started by doing some shooting drills in a half-court setting before participating in a full-court mini-scrimmage. The post-practice work indicated that Embiid’s recent foot soreness isn’t severe. However, the team remains unsure whether or not he’ll be good to go on Wednesday.

If Embiid can’t get the nod to play against Brooklyn, it would mark the second time he misses the rivalry matchup this year. When the Nets paid a visit to the Sixers on November 22, Embiid was ruled out with a mid-foot sprain, putting the highly-anticipated Embiid versus Ben Simmons matchup on the back burner. Will it finally happen on Wednesday? Only time will tell.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.