Joel Embiid, still battling knee tendinitis, set to miss his 6th consecutive game vs. Orlando Magic

Joel Embiid has been ruled out ahead of the Sixers matchup against the Orlando Magic. It will be the 6th straight game the Kansas product will miss with left knee tendinitis. The injury first cost him a game against Portland back on December 30th.

Embiid did go through a rigorous pre-game workout before the team’s last home loss to the defending champs, the Warriors on Saturday. According to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer on his podcast, Embiid may be working hard in practice in order to test how the knee responds. Pompey added that his colleague Sarah Todd, also with The Inquirer, asked Embiid if he might consider resting until the playoffs and Embiid answered that he expected to be back “before next week.”

It sounds like Embiid may have avoided very serious injuries. The MRI he had after the All-Star break revealed no structural damage, but many fans in this town have learned not to breathe a sigh of relief until they see for themselves the player’s return to action.

For fans who have learned to take any injury updates from the Sixers’ medical staff with a grain of salt, most of the news on this one does seem to suggest Embiid will in fact return in the near future.

The Magic have been pesky lately beating the Hornets, Warriors, Raptors and Pacers within their last 7 contests. It should still be a game in which the Sixers are favored, however.

Boban Marjanović is out with a bone bruise and knee sprain, and both Jonah Bolden and Amir Johnson are questionable. The Sixers center rotation is hurting. If they are literally without any center, it is forward Mike Scott who is most likely to see run at the 5.