Sources – Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid has bruises on his knees, could lose 2 weeks

Joel Embiid, the star of the Philadelphia 76ers, has a bone bruise on his left knee and could be missing for two weeks, sources told ESPN.

An overnight MRI did not reveal any structural damage to the knee that Embiid hyperextended in a victory over the Washington Wizards on Friday night, sources said. Embiid underwent an MRI immediately after returning to Philadelphia late Friday night, sources said.

The ACL and Embiid’s meniscus are fine, sources said, and there is significant relief within the Sixers that the injury is not something much more serious.

Embiid left the game on Friday night, when he extended his left knee, after landing with all his weight on his leg, after a dive in the third quarter.

Embiid was in the middle of the latest dominant performance of his MVP season, scoring 23 points in the 8-for-11 shot to go along with 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks in 20 minutes when he caught a pass from Tobias Harris and flew to make a dunk to give Philadelphia an 80-60 lead with 6 minutes, 20 seconds left in the third quarter.

But as Embiid descended after the dive, all the weight of his body landed on his left leg – causing him to extend, sending him to fall into court and causing him to writh in pain.

After sitting down for a few minutes, Embiid finally got up and left under his own power – albeit with a rather sharp limp – as he returned directly to the visitors’ locker room in the capital, Washington One Arena.

Embiid had an equally frightening situation last month, when he hyperextended his right knee in an awkward fall against the Portland Trail Blazers after blocking an Enes Kanter stretch. In that game, Embiid returned a few minutes later and dominated, scoring 31 points in the first half in a game that Philadelphia eventually lost.

The Sixers just picked Embiid back on Friday night after he and Ben Simmons missed Thursday’s Chicago victory over the Bulls – as well as Sunday’s All-Star Game in Atlanta – due to tracking contacts from a visited barber. by both stars before heading to Atlanta.

ESPN’s Tim Bontemps contributed to this report.