76ers fans hit with injury setback to key player ahead of Grizzlies test

Saying ‘two steps forward and one step back’ is, at this point in his career, too cliché to be a cliché. Joel Embiid needs a new one. An understanding saying, that is, not a new career. Or leg.

The 76ers star cannot catch a break, or a ball, due to his recurrent injury problems that keep him sat down more than a test pilot for wheelchairs.

A right ankle sprain and ongoing knee management are the listed causes for the 31-year-old who has struggled with injuries since the Jurassic Period. Curiously, Embiid was also listed with both issues when he missed the Sixers’ last game, against the Oklahoma City Thunder, despite Nick Nurse telling local media that Embiid was out due to the ankle, not the knee.

For the upcoming affair, he’s listed as ‘questionable’ on the official NBA injury report that teams are required to submit before every game. In that sense, there is still some hope, as 76ers doctors must think that there is some chance of him featuring, should he pass all fitness tests leading up to tip-off.

Philadelphia enter the game in a poor vein of form, sitting on a 16-14 record and at the wrong end of a three-game losing streak. Tyrese Maxey leads the team’s statistics tables with 30.7 points, 6.9 assists, and 4.4 rebounds in 39.7 minutes per game. VJ Edgecombe is behind him with averages of 15.5 points and 5.4 rebounds, while the semi-injured Joel Embiid averages 21.8 points and 6.5 boards.

Memphis’ injury report is longer than the unabridged version of The Canterbury Tales, so strap yourself in: Kentavious Caldewell-Pope (hamstring), Brandon Clarke (calf), Zach Edey (ankle), Ty Jerome (calf), John Konchar (thumb), Scotty Pippen Jr. (toe) and Vince Williams Jr. (knee) are all out, while Jock Landale (calf) is questionable.

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The Sixers and Grizzlies go up against each other at FedExForum in Memphis at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

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