76ers star Joel Embiid cleared to return in Game 4 vs. Celtics weeks after emergency appendectomy
Joel Embiid had his appendix removed earlier this month, and has been recovering ever since.
Joel Embiid will play against the Celtics on Sunday night after being diagnosed with appendicitis earlier this month. (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) Emilee Chinn via Getty Images Joel Embiid is back. The Philadelphia 76ers star was cleared to return for the team’s Game 4 matchup with the Boston Celtics on Sunday night, less than a month after he underwent an emergency appendectomy .
Embiid has been working on his comeback so far in the playoffs, and began a strength and conditioning program last week . He was listed as “doubtful” ahead of Friday’s 108-100 loss to the Celtics, and did not play. But the team announced less than an hour before Game 4 was scheduled to tip off that Embiid was both available and in the starting lineup.
Embiid underwent surgery in Houston on April 9 after he was diagnosed with appendicitis, something that can typically take up to six weeks to recover from. That knocked Embiid out for the rest of the regular season and the start of the playoffs. The Celtics rolled to a 22-point win in Game 1, but V.
J. Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey tied up the series in Boston with a huge 14-point win in Game 2. Embiid averaged 26.