Joel Embiid meniscus tear: Explaining specifics of 2022-23 NBA MVP's latest knee injury

Joel Embiid, who has been dealing with a knee injury since January, re-injured his knee against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday. The 76ers reported that the star player injured his lateral meniscus in his left knee.

Just after a few days, with the details of the injury out, it doesn’t look good for the 76ers’ high hopes for this season. The 76ers have been one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, and considering Embiid’s impact on the team’s output, their chances have taken a bit of a hit.

It has been reported that Embiid had been diagnosed with a displaced flap in his left knee, which is a type of tear of the meniscus. There have also been reports of the 76ers and Embiid even contemplating surgery.

Jeff Stotts, who is an injury expert, shed further details about the injury on Reddit. Giving details of the injury, he said this:

“We now know the specifics regarding his meniscus tear. A flap tear is a specific (and unfortunately complex) type of tear that is most commonly treated with a partial menisectomy. I’ve heard it compared to a hang nail or a door jam.”

There is no clear decision on how the team and the player want to go about treating the injury. Embiid’s doctors and the team are still exploring ways to find the best way to go about the injury and the final decision might come as soon as Monday.

Can the 76ers remain valid without Joel Embiid?

Joel Embiid’s injury is perhaps the most unfortunate thing that has happened this season. The 76ers, despite having knowledge that their star player was not in his best physical form continued to play him in light of the Player Participation Policy.

When Embiid did not play against the Denver Nuggets due to knee swelling, the 76ers were fined for reporting the injury late. Now that he is out of the lineup for a few weeks, the 76ers are walking in complete darkness without their best player.

So far the 76ers have played 13 games without Embiid, and they are 4-9 in those games. This is just a faint idea of what impact Embiid has on the team. With Embiid on the floor, the 76ers have an offensive rating of 120.6, and with him off the floor, their ratings go down to 117.3.

In terms of defensive rating, with Embiid on the floor, they have a DRTNG of 110.5, and without him, it's 114.1. In Net rating, with Embiid on the floor, they are 10.1 and without him, they are 3.2. In simple terms, without Embiid, the 76ers are just another team in the league.

Though Embiid not returning to the 76ers lineup is very unlikely, his absence will clearly impact the 76ers' regular season. Whether or not he goes through with surgery, Embiid is unlikely to return for several weeks.