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Embiid has successful foot surgery
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
Joel Embiid had two screws placed in his right foot during surgery Friday to repair a stress fracture that could cause the top prospect to fall in next week’s NBA Draft.
Dr. Richard Ferkel said in a statement that the surgery went well and he is confident Embiid will be able to return to the court after “appropriate healing.” Ferkel did not put a timetable on the recovery, but it is expected to be a long process.
Embiid was widely considered one of the top three prospects in the draft and a serious candidate to be chosen No. 1 overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers. But the injury could turn some teams away from the versatile big man from Kansas.
Embiid’s agent, Arn Tellem, said in a statement that the 7-foot center underwent the procedure at Southern California Orthopedic Institute.
“Two screws were inserted into the navicular bone in Joel Embiid’s right foot,” Ferkel said in the statement released by Tellem. “The surgery went very well and I’m confident that after appropriate healing he will be able to return to NBA basketball. Joel tolerated the surgery without difficulty and will begin his rehabilitation in the near future.”
Embiid is not attending next Thursday’s draft because he can’t fly for 10 days to two weeks post-surgery, Tellem told ESPN.com on Thursday.
A native of Cameroon, Embiid missed the postseason in March with a stress fracture in his back, which some teams believe could be a chronic issue. He averaged 11.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.6 blocks as a freshman last season.
Embiid’s latest injury could push the Cavaliers toward Kansas forward Andrew Wiggins or Duke forward Jabari Parker.
