Joel Embiid’s Status vs. Wizards Up in Air

The Philadelphia 76ers are set to conclude their road trip on Monday night with a matchup against the Washington Wizards. Whether the Sixers will be at full strength or not is unclear.

On Sunday afternoon, the Sixers added their star big man Joel Embiid to the injury report. According to the team, Embiid is dealing with a non-COVID illness. He is questionable for Monday’s matchup.

Monday marks the second game Embiid is questionable for within a week’s span. Following Philadelphia’s loss against the Toronto Raptors last Wednesday, Embiid entered the rematch on Friday questionable due to knee soreness.

Considering the Sixers had a back-to-back and were set to play the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night, Embiid seemed unlikely to play on Friday. Sure enough, that was the case. The All-Star center was ruled out for the night on Friday as the Sixers defeated the Raptors.

The following day, Embiid was taken off the injury report and cleared for action against Chicago. The big man spent 32 minutes on the court, producing 25 points, seven rebounds, and four assists in the Sixers’ victory over the Bulls. After the game, Embiid reiterated he has been a work in progress health-wise lately.

“I was struggling,” said Embiid on Saturday. “I’m getting back to myself slowly. I’m just glad we’re able to win and get a big win in Toronto and tonight. So, we got to go on a run right here. We started off bad, so we got to make up for it.”

Embiid might miss his second matchup in three games on Monday. According to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, the All-Star center was not present at practice on Monday morning. He remains a game-time decision against the Wizards at 7 PM ET.

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