Embiid Discharged From Hospital — No Timeline for Return

Joel Embiid walked out of a Houston hospital on Friday, one day after emergency surgery to remove his appendix. The good news: the surgery was successful. The bad news: nobody knows when he's coming back.

"A timeline for return to basketball activities has not yet been determined," the Sixers said. Embiid called the team's medical staff around 3 AM Wednesday night saying he wasn't feeling well. By Thursday, he was in surgery. NBA players who've had appendectomies typically miss about 23 days — which would put his earliest return well into the first round of the playoffs.

The Sixers are currently in play-in territory and were already dealing with Embiid's chronic injury history this season. Now they might have to survive the play-in tournament and potentially start a playoff series without their franchise cornerstone. Embiid is heading back to Philadelphia to continue his recovery under team physicians. For a player who has already missed more games than he's played in his career, the timing couldn't be worse.