Joel Embiid is One Step Closer to Returning

Philadelphia 76ers All-Star center Joel Embiid hasn't been able to play since early January. After dislocating his finger while attempting a block, the Sixers' big man ended up getting diagnosed with a torn ligament in his hand.

Once Embiid opted for surgery, it was pretty much guaranteed he was going to miss at least two week's worth of games. One week after his successful medical procedure, Embiid was re-evaluated and cleared for limited participation.

While the big man has been shooting around as best as he can with only one hand available, he hasn't been able to do much outside of conditioning and light shooting. Now that he's a couple of weeks removed from his surgery, though, Embiid is beginning to ramp up his workload. However, he's still not ready to return just yet.

On Friday, the Sixers returned to practice after having the day off, concluding a three-game road trip. While the team is bummed about their starting shooting guard, Josh Richardson, being forced to miss a couple of weeks due to a hamstring injury, there's at least hope the All-Star center should be back on the court very soon.

Joel Embiid (torn ligament/left hand) went through a full practice today, including contact drills.

Plan for him is to be reassessed Monday. #Sixers
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) January 24, 2020

During Friday's session, the Sixers allowed Embiid to be a full participant. With no setbacks, the big man went full speed and even participated in contact drills. He has already been ruled out for Saturday's game against the Lakers, but all other games beyond Saturday are still up in the air for the veteran center.

Embiid is set to be re-evaluated once again on Monday. That test should give the Sixers a good idea of when he's truly able to return. Considering Embiid has looked to have finally shaken the plastic brace off his hand and is shooting with both hands, it seems he's making good progress. The earliest Embiid could return is on Tuesday against the Warriors. His status for that game will be announced after his evaluation.

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