ON DEMAND: The Surgeon for Joel Embiid Tells Mike and Matt That It’s a 5-9 Month Recovery Time

When the Philadelphia Sixers drafted Joel Embiid, we all knew he wouldn't be ready to start the season.

In fact, he may not be playing this season at all.

Embiid broke the navicular bone in his foot not too long ago and had surgery to repair the bone in Los Angeles.

His surgeon, Dr. Richard Ferkel, performed the successful surgery and called in to speak with Mike Gill and Matt Segal on the recovery and rehabilitation process.

"This bone can take 5-9 months to fully heal. It will be a team decision between myself and others," said Ferkel.

That team is also made up of general manager Sam Hinkie and head coach Brett Brown, who have both intimated that Embiid will indeed sit out the season.

According to Ferkel, there will be no lingering effects from the surgery and he should regain his ability from Kansas that had him billed as the number one prospect in the 2014 NBA Draft.

When the injury first happened, however, there was a concern that his career would wind up similarly to those of Gregg Oden and Yao Ming.

"Circumstances are different for each player. Each player has a completely different circumstance," Ferkel said.

Embiid is still in a cast, he will remain in one for another two weeks, followed by an extensive rehabilitation process.

So Embiid will be fully healed and physically able to play, but he may want to get some pointers from Nerlens Noel about sitting out a full season just to watch.

LISTEN to Dr. Richard Ferkel on with Mike Gill and Matt Segal: