Joel Embiid Needs Surgery for Orbital Fracture

The Philadelphia 76ers announced that center Joel Embiid suffered a left orbital fracture after teammate Markelle Fultz elbow struck him in the face during the second quarter of their win over the Knicks on Wednesday. The Sixers didn't give a timetable on his return but did say he will undergo surgery in the coming days. Upon completion of the surgery, doctors will determine a timetable for his return.

It was announced earlier today that Joel Embiid will not travel with the team for their two game road trip against Atlanta and Charlotte, following his collusion with teammate Markelle Fultz on Wednesday night.

The Sixers provided an update tonight around 8pm in a press release.

According to the Sixers press release, Embiid has a concussion and has been placed in the NBA's concussion protocol.  Furthermore, Embiid will undergo surgery to repair an orbital fracture in his left eye, and could miss an extended amount of time.

According to ESPN's Zach Lowe, Embiid could return to the team in about 2-4 weeks.

Per the website In Street Clothes, other NBA players include Jason Terry, Joe Johnson, Tarence Kinsey and Etan Thomas and they missed an average of 14 games (about two weeks).  Two other prominent NBA players to suffer this injury are Derek Rose and Rajon Rondo.

Two weeks from today would be April 13th, the NBA playoffs begin on Saturday April 14th.

For what it's worth, Embiid did tweet that he expected to be "more than fine", and that he just needs to "Trust the Process".