Joel Embiid's injury may be more serious than previously thought, but still not that serious.
Although it was originally diagnosed as a bone bruise, the Philadelphia 76ers center suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee that's not believed to be severe.
"I don't think it's proper to term it actually 'a torn meniscus,'" GM Bryan Colangelo told reporters Saturday. " ... The MRI revealed obviously what we thought it to be, a bone bruise. And there was also the recognition that there was a very minor meniscal tear, but it was not thought to be acute."
Considering it's a low-grade tear, it's unlikely Embiid will need to undergo surgery to repair it.
Amid speculation the team has kept him sidelined so it can lose games and thereby gain more lottery balls in the upcoming draft, the 22-year-old set the record straight.
"I'm not healthy," he told reporters after Saturday's shootaround, as quoted by Keith Pompey of philly.com. "I think my knee (has a) bone bruise. It's been on and off working out. It swells up a little bit, and then it kind of slows down."
Embiid suffered the knock Jan. 20 against the Portland Trail Blazers, and is set to miss his ninth consecutive contest when the Sixers host the scorching Miami Heat on Saturday night.
"I would say today is the best day I felt in the past two weeks," he said after participating in shootaround.
The ailment isn't expected to pose long-term concerns for the Cameroonian center, who's listed as day to day. That's a relief, as injuries have already set back his young pro career. Embiid sat out two years with foot injuries after he was drafted third overall in 2014.
He made his NBA debut at the start of the season, and has taken the league by storm despite missing games and being on a minutes restriction when he does suit up. He's averaging 20.2 points, 7.8 boards, 2.5 blocks, and 2.1 assists in just 25.4 minutes per outing.
"This is not the time to lose patience," added the ROY favorite.
If he doesn't recover in the next week, he'll have to give up his spot in the Skills Challenge and Rising Stars Game during All-Star weekend in New Orleans.
