THE Philadelphia 76ers look set to be without star Joel Embiid for some time.
The reigning NBA MVP, 29, left their 119-107 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night with a knee injury.
Now, Embiid will reportedly undergo surgery this week on his left meniscus, as per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Exactly how long the 76ers will have to do without Embiid is not yet clear.
However, Wojnarowski later added, "The door isn't closed on an Embiid return this season."
It was reported on Saturday that Embiid had suffered a displaced flap of his meniscus, according to The Athletic.
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Without Embiid, the 76ers have gone 4-10 this season, including a loss to the Utah Jazz and a win against the Brooklyn Nets since he left the Warriors game.
The 76ers are currently fifth in the Eastern Conference at 30-18.
As for Embiid's MVP chances, those are essentially over.
Prior to this year, a new rule was put in place that in order to win the award, a player has to have played in a minimum of 65 games, according to a CBS News affiliate.
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And there is every chance Embiid could have won the award once more, given he remains the NBA's scoring leader with 35.3 points per game - a career-high.
His 5.7 assists per game and 11.3 rebounds are also improvements on his MVP season stats.
Prior to his injury, Embiid had gone 22 games scoring over 30 points.
All in all, he's failed to score 30+ points in a game just four times this season.
Now knowing they'll be without their brightest star for some time, the 76ers prepare to host the Dallas Mavericks on Monday before the Warriors make their way to Philly on Wednesday.
