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Paul George and the Philadelphia 76ers have dodged a major injury scare.
According to the team, tests on George’s knee revealed a bone bruise and no structural damage. He will be re-evaluated in one week ahead of the Sixers’ season opener.
Head coach Nick Nurse told reporters earlier on Tuesday that George “checked out okay” after leaving Monday’s preseason loss to the Atlanta Hawks at halftime due to a hyperextended knee.
The play occurred early in the second quarter when George was guarding Jalen Johnson and his knee hyperextended when he got pushed back. He went down momentarily before being subbed out for Andre Drummond.
George was ruled out for the remainder of the game by the Sixers. Nurse said on Tuesday that the nine-time All-Star won’t play in Wednesday’s preseason game against the Brooklyn Nets.
The Sixers announced on Sunday that Joel Embiid won’t play in the preseason due to left knee injury management. He had meniscus surgery in February after Jonathan Kuminga fell on his knee diving for a loose ball in a Jan. 30 game against the Golden State Warriors.
Embiid hasn’t played in a game this preseason. Nurse didn’t give a definitive answer when asked on Monday about the former MVP’s status for opening night, but he did say they “are right on course with the plan we’ve kind of set out.”
Expectations are sky-high for the 76ers going into this season thanks to the addition of George to a roster that already had Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. Injuries are always going to be a concern for George and Embiid because of their track record of missing games.
George was healthy for most of last season with the Los Angeles Clippers. He appeared in 80 out of 88 games between the regular season and playoffs.
As long as the Sixers have their star trio available for a majority of their games in the regular season, they are going to be one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference.
The 76ers open the regular season on Oct. 23 at home against the Milwaukee Bucks.
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