It just seems the Philadelphia 76ers can’t have anything nice. After Sixers fans struggled to come to terms with the plan to not only sit Joel Embiid through the preseason but likely all back-to-back games moving forward, an injury has clouded the beginning of this new season.
During the Sixers’ Monday night matchup against the Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia’s marquee offseason addition, nine-time All-Star Paul George, suffered a hyperextended left knee early in the second quarter.
The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Gina Mizell was the first to report.
For now, as Jeff Stotts of Rotowire has pointed out, it has simply been called hyperextension, which is the action of what happened to the knee. Further diagnosis will reveal what George and the Sixers are looking at in terms of the actual nature of the injury and the recovery timetable.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, a true hyperextended knee typically results in between two weeks and a month of missed time, though in recent cases of NBA players, it has typically been closer to two weeks. If George’s ACL, LCL, MCL, PCL, or Meniscus is damaged—all of which are technical possibilities—then he could be looking at a longer recovery time frame.
Geroge had not even played two games with his team, so the injury news certainly comes as a gut punch to the Sixers. However, there is still much unknown regarding this injury. When George and the team return to Philadelphia, which should happen tomorrow, the Sixers’ medical staff will be able to properly review his injury.
There is still very much a chance that George does not have to miss regular season time with this injury, and until the team comes forward with a diagnosis, worry and speculation are futile.
Check back with Philly Sports Network as this story is developing.
