Report: Sixers rookie Joel Embiid 'very likely' to have knee surgery

Joel Embiid will reportedly 'very likely' need surgery to help repair his damaged knee as he recovers from this injury.

For 31 games this season, we got a glimpse at the truly amazing potential of Joel Embiid. The Sixers rookie quickly established himself as one of the better big men in the league and distanced himself from the rest of the 2016 rookie class. But in a familiar theme for him, Embiid was shut down on March 1 due a torn meniscus in his left knee.

Before being officially ruled out for the season, Embiid last played on Jan. 27. Afterwards however, he remained out for several weeks before the Sixers officially announced the news that he was done for the season. And while the Sixers first believed Embiid wouldn't need surgery to repair his torn meniscus, according to ESPN's Marc Stein, that doesn't seem to be the case anymore.

According to Stein, Embiid will be having surgery on his left knee in the coming days and there likely will be no timetable for his return, which could very possibly mean he will miss some time next season:

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, recently ruled out for the rest of the season due to a knee injury, is “very likely” headed for knee surgery in coming days, according to league sources.

Sources told ESPN.com that Embiid and the Sixers have been extensively exploring treatment options in the wake of a partially torn meniscus and bone bruise in Embiid's left knee that he suffered in a January practice.

A recovery timetable won't be established, sources said, until after the procedure.

Embiid's young NBA career has just been dramatically affected by injuries. He missed two seasons after getting drafted in 2014 due to a navicular bone fracture in his right foot. He had two surgeries in two years to repair the navicular bone and was finally healthy enough to play this season. Embiid did not play in back-to-backs and only played limited minutes though as the Sixers did not want him to further injury himself. Unfortunately that couldn't be prevented as Embiid is back to being injured for a considerable amount of time.

Hopefully Embiid can return in the early part or even before next season. But with the way the Sixers have been ultra cautious with Embiid in the past, it wouldn't be surprising to see him not play for a good portion of the 2017-18 NBA season.