Joel Embiid's 76ers coaches gives thoughts on unfortunate appendectomy

PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia 76ers received some awful news on Thursday before a matchup with the Houston Rockets. Star big man Joel Embiid was ruled out with an illness, and after receiving some medical attention, it proved to be something very serious. Embiid had appendicitis and had to quickly undergo an appendectomy in Houston that day.

Since then, Embiid is back in Philadelphia after being discharged from the hospital and such, but there is no timeline for the big fella to return to basketball activities. Embiid's current coach, Nick Nurse, expressed his empathy for Embiid as he has to battle his way through yet another unfortunate and tough situation after having to just get his knees healthy and battle through a right oblique strain. "Extremely tough," Nurse said of Embiid.

"I think, first of all, pretty serious, right? I think that’s the big thing you gotta keep in mind, but obviously, the timing’s not great. I think he was on an uptick as far as where he was going playing-wise and all that kind of stuff.

So, it’s all a big bummer for him, first, and then everything else. " The Sixers play host to the Milwaukee Bucks in the regular season finale on Sunday, who are coached by Embiid's former coach of three years, Doc Rivers. The big fella won an MVP award under Rivers in 2023, but also suffered his fair share of injuries while Rivers was in Philadelphia.