The Philadelphia 76ers may have to prepare for another period of play without star center Joel Embiid.

The 2022-23 MVP left in the first half of Philadelphia’s eventual loss to the Indiana Pacers after being hit in the face, and the team later announced that Embiid had suffered a ruptured sinus. He will be re-evaluated this weekend.

Embiid was hit by an errant elbow from Pacers forward Bennedict Mathurin as Mathurin went for an offensive rebound. Embiid fell to the ground and remained there as the game continued. He was later ruled out of the game for “impact to the right side of the face.”

Philadelphia 76ers star center Joel Embiid suffered a ruptured sinus in today’s loss to the Indiana Pacers. He will be further examined this weekend

– Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) December 14, 2024

“He’s still being tested,” 76ers coach Nick Nurse said after the game, later saying he didn’t know whether Embiid had been X-rayed.

In his 17 minutes before elimination, Embiid scored 12 points and grabbed four rebounds with five assists. The Pacers won 121-107, dropping the Sixers’ record to 7-16.

Embiid has suffered facial injuries in the past, most recently in the 2022 playoffs and breaking his orbital bone for the first time in 2018. In early 2024, he struggled with Bell’s palsy during the Sixers’ first-round loss to the New York Knicks.

After an encouraging final stretch of play, Friday’s loss leaves Philadelphia in 12th place in the East, sandwiched between the Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets. Friday was just the sixth game the 76ers had Embiid in the lineup, as the 30-year-old missed time due to knee swelling, a suspension and knee treatment.

“You just have to keep going and practice when we get back to practice and have a next-man-up mentality,” Tyrese Maxey, the 76ers’ leading scorer, said after Friday’s loss. “The bad thing is that we have moved in the right direction. The boys figured out what roles they should have, what the coach wanted from them and how they played correctly. We know how to play with Joel – and now we may have to refocus on playing without him. That’s okay. It’s different. That’s life.”

Including Friday’s loss, the 76ers are now 1-5 in games Embiid plays.

Philadelphia next plays against the Hornets on Monday before another duel with the Hornets in Charlotte next Friday after a break.

The Sixers just can’t seem to catch a break

A brutal start to the 2024-25 season is only going to get worse for the 76ers’ franchise player. His latest injury likely slows Philly’s recovery over the last week and a half – the 76ers had won four of their last five games through Friday. And Embiid had just returned to the court; He was back in action last Sunday in the Sixers’ win over the Chicago Bulls after missing the previous seven games and had his best night of the season: 31 points and 12 rebounds in 33 minutes.

In Embiid’s absence, Philly had deployed the experienced Andre Drummond alongside Guerschon Yabusele at the top, which had a positive effect. But there is no replacement for the former NBA Most Valuable Player if he is out again for an extended period of time. — David Aldridge, senior columnist

Required reading

(Photo: Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)