Fans all across Philadelphia have been waiting for the third overall pick from the 2014 Draft to play for their 76ers after sitting all of last season. Well, it looks life they may have to wait a little bit more.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported that Joel Embiid suffered a setback with his recovery from his right foot injury. In his report, Woj stated:
"After weeks of rigorous workouts, Embiid had not felt pain in the foot, but a recent CT scan revealed an issue in the healing process, sources said. Philadelphia is consulting with doctors on how to best proceed, and it's still premature to speculate on the possibility of another surgical procedure that could sideline Embiid, sources said."
Embiid practiced with the team a good amount at the end of the season, taking part in warmups with the team with coach Brett Brown closely monitoring Embiid to make sure he did not push himself. Embiid played well and showed off some flashy dunks. During recent practices, witnesses claimed that Embiid showed "dominant, explosive performances".
The Sixers are used to waiting for players to recover from injury, as Philadelphia waited an entire year for Nerlens Noel, the sixth overall pick in the 2013 Draft. The wait was worth it though, as Noel took the NBA by storm and put up strong defensive numbers and played a vital role for the team.
General manager Sam Hinkie has been willing to wait a year for a player that has a great potential, such as with Embiid and Noel, along with small forward Dario Saric, who is currently playing overseas and will be stateside by next season at the latest.
Hopefully, the wait for Embiid will be like the wait for Noel. Embiid could be ready by opening day, but it is unsure now. However, it would appear that Embiid will play at some point for the Sixers this season.