Joel Embiid provides shockingly optimistic health update after monster return

Joel Embiid returned to the lineup for the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night after missing the last 13 games with an oblique injury. 

The former NBA MVP dropped 35 points, six rebounds and seven assists in just 28 minutes of action, but his postgame comments about his health were the biggest story of the night. 

After leading the Sixers to a 157-137 thrashing of the Chicago Bulls in his return, Embiid revealed that his knee issues are fully behind him. 

"My knees haven’t been an issue for a long time. That’s past me," Embiid told reporters on Wednesday night, per PHLY Sixers. "The oblique was very tricky, and it still is tricky. Really nothing you can do about it, gotta let it ride and hope it doesn’t get worse."

It was a right oblique strain — not a knee injury — that forced Embiid out of the lineup for the first 13 games in March. The 32-year-old did miss 13 of the first 20 games this season due mostly to right knee soreness, but it appears as if that's no longer an issue. For a player who's battled knee and foot issues throughout his career, this is a great sign.

It's not all positive for Embiid, though (it rarely is, after all). While shoring up the concern about his knees, Embiid also highlighted how much his oblique strain is affecting his comfort level on and off the court.

"It’s really painful," he said. "Can't cough. Can’t sneeze. Every time you sneeze, it feels like you go right back to where you started. Still not where it’s supposed to be. We are the point where I don't think—maybe when the season is over, maybe it’s going to get better. But, yeah, it's really painful."

When it's not one injury, it's another. That's become the disappointing reality for Embiid over the last few seasons. 

Could the 76ers make some noise with a healthy roster?