BREAKING NEWS: NBA rumors suggest 76ers’ Paul George set to return from knee injury against Durant and the Suns .giang

Philadelphia 76ers star wing Paul George is “expected to make his season debut” against Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns on Monday night, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.

George has been dealing with a bone bruise in his left knee, keeping him sidelined alongside fellow Sixers’ superstar Joel Embiid, who is also yet to play in the 2024-25 campaign.

The Sixers have officially listed George as questionable for Monday night, while Embiid (left knee injury management) remains out.

Philadelphia has been eager to see the debut of George after he was the biggest free-agent signing of the summer, and one of the biggest in Sixers’ franchise history. Without George and Embiid, the Sixers have stumbled to a 1-4 start.

The expectation was that the trio of Embiid, George and Tyrese Maxey would make the Sixers one of the top contenders in the NBA. The three have yet to share the court in the regular season, however, with fans eager to see them in action.

George said last month that he suffered the injury while extending for the ball in the preseason.

“I reach for [the ball], poked it out,” he told reporters. “Went to go take a step to go kind of burst through, and then my leg kind of hyperextended back. I felt that it hyperextended, and immediately, it was, ‘All right, I need to get taken out and look at this.’ But if you ask me, I’m not too concerned about it.”

As for Embiid, his injury has been more murky, but he said on Friday that it stems back to last season.

“I had surgery in February or whenever that was, and I did come back early to fight for the team and to play, try to give us a chance,” Embiid told reporters. “Unfortunately, we lost (to the Knicks in the playoffs). And then I had time to recover. I’ve really still been managing since the last surgery. Just managing and trying to figure out the best approach, but I feel pretty good. I’ve started doing some live stuff and it feels pretty good, so I should be back pretty soon.”

Embiid did represent the United States in the Olympics, largely serving as the team’s starting center, though he split minutes with a number of players, including Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo.