Philadelphia 76ers centre Joel Embiid underwent emergency surgery in Houston on Thursday after being diagnosed with appendicitis hours before the team faced the Houston Rockets. The 76ers announced the procedure was complete during their 113-102 loss to the Rockets and gave no timeline for his return.
Coach Nick Nurse said Embiid, 32, felt fine at Wednesday's practice but contacted medical staff around 3 to 3:30 a.m. on Thursday with an illness. "I was told this morning, but they had said that he had in the middle of the night -- like 3 [a.m.], 3:30 [a.m.] or something -- contacted them to say he was not feeling well," Nurse said. The team learned of the diagnosis while preparing for tip-off and arranged the surgery locally.
The Cameroonian is averaging 26.9 points and 7.7 rebounds across 38 games this season after a 19-game campaign last year cut short by left knee issues. The 76ers, sitting at 43-37 through Thursday's games, are two games behind the Toronto Raptors with two fixtures remaining as they try to avoid the play-in tournament. They face Indiana on Friday and Milwaukee on Sunday.
"I've got to pick the guys up and they'll understand the situation and we've got to be professional and we've got to go try to figure it out the best we can," Nurse said.
