Joel Embiid sets sights on return from injury for Philadelphia 76ers before end of regular season in NBA

Joel Embiid has said his aim is to return to action for Philadelphia 76ers before the end of the regular season.

The 29-year-old picked up an injury against Golden State Warriors on January 30, and the 76ers confirmed he had undergone a procedure “to address an injury to the lateral meniscus in his left knee.”

Embiid is working on a rehabilitation programme without a timeframe for his return, but his aim is to be back on the court during the regular season.

"That's the plan," Embiid said about the prospect of returning in the regular season, which ends for Philadelphia against Brooklyn Nets on April 14. "Obviously everything has to go right, as far as getting healthy and being as close as I'm supposed to be. But yeah, that's the plan."

Despite nursing a problem going into the game with the Warriors, Embiid was on a red-hot rut of form.

He was on a run of 16 games in a row of 30 points and 10 rebounds, including one game of 70 points, but felt he could take his game up a notch.

"That's why it was extremely disappointing," Embiid said. "I was on a roll and I felt like I wasn't even close to where I wanted to be, body-wise and basketball-wise, because I wasn't at my best, so I felt like there was still another level that I could go to. It was very disappointing. But I was having fun, playing, getting a lot of wins, dominating.

"The 70-point game was fun... I never would've thought that I could be in a position to score 70 in a basketball game and having the dominance that I was doing. It was fun, but it's not over. The mindset is 'come back if everything goes well, go from there.'

"For two months, I was not at 100%, I was not even close to it. And I just felt the need of giving my all to the team and just wanting to win. Because I know I can, you know, I can add that to this basketball team.”

Philadelphia are sixth in the Eastern Conference, but face the prospect of dropping out of play-off contention and forced into a play-in tournament at the end of the regular season.

"Any chances that I get, I wanna be on the floor,” Embiid said. “So it doesn't matter where we are [in the standings]. I just want to play as much as I can and try to help us."

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