Another setback for 76ers’ Joel Embiid, out at least 7-10 days with swelling in his knee

Joel Embiid has played in just 13 games this season due to an assortment of injuries. That was set to change this weekend, he’d missed Philadelphia’s last six games with a sprained foot but was going through workouts with the team to prepare for a return to the court.

After the workouts, Embiid had swelling in his left knee, which has led to him being sidelined and re-evaluated in 7-10 days, the team announced.

Knee swelling was among the issues that sidelined Embiid at the start of the season, and the fact that it has returned is concerning. Embiid also missed time due to a sinus fracture and served a three-game suspension for pushing a reporter. When he has gotten on the court this season, Embiid has averaged 24.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game.

Embiid is not the only player out right now: Paul George, Guerschon Yabusele, Kyle Lowry, and K.J. Martin did not practice on Friday. The team is optimistic that center Andre Drummond can return from a toe injury this weekend and soak up most of the minutes that would have gone to Embiid.

Philadelphia has dealt with a rash of injuries this season — most recently rookie Jared McCain being out for the year with a torn meniscus — and primarily due to that are 15-24 on the season, sitting two games out of the No. 10 seed and final play-in spot in the East. The 76ers have fallen a distant 6.5 games out of the top six in the East and avoiding the play-in, which may be beyond their reach. However, if this team has dreams of making the postseason in any form, it needs to start stringing together wins.