Philadelphia 76ers star center Joel Embiid is undergoing emergency surgery in Houston on Thursday after being diagnosed with appendicitis a few hours before the team was set to face the Rockets in a pivotal late regular-season clash.
The team announced Embiid’s surgery a few hours after he was suddenly added to the injury report as being out with an illness ahead of Thursday’s game — one that the Sixers need to win as they fight to avoid the Eastern Conference play-in tournament next week.
It’s unclear when Embiid would be able to return to the court.
Embiid, 32, is averaging 26.9 points and 7.7 rebounds in 38 games this season as he has slowly begun to regain his MVP-level form after a lost season a year ago in which he played only 19 ineffective games before being shut down due to ongoing issues with his left knee.
Philadelphia has dealt with a series of absences to its star players this season, with Paul George returning just a couple weeks ago from a 25-game NBA suspension.
Entering Thursday’s games, the 76ers (43-36) are one game behind the sixth-place Toronto Raptors with three games remaining in the regular season as they try to avoid the postseason play-in tournament.
The Sixers then have games Friday against Indiana and Sunday against Milwaukee — teams firmly focused on improving their draft lottery positioning.
The chances of avoiding the play-in tournament, however, is only heightened with Embiid’s status up in the air. Next week’s play-in games would take place either Tuesday (for the 7-8 game) or Wednesday (9-10 game) and then Friday (8-9 game).
