Joel Embiid's third facial fracture of his career is latest gut punch to 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers might just be cursed. At the very least, Joel Embiid is.

The star big man suffered a freak injury when he got hit in the side of the face by an inadvertent forearm against the Pacers.

The blow knocked him out of Friday night's game and it might cause an even longer absence.

After the game, the 76ers announced that Embiid suffered a sinus fracture. He will undergo further evaluation this weekend.

Joel Embiid's unlucky run of face injuries continues to plague 76ers

This isn't the first time Embiid has dealt with an injury to his face. He's played through two orbital bone fractures in his career already, in 2018 and 2022. He missed two weeks the first time. The second time he only missed two games, but that was in the playoffs. The urgency to get Embiid back this time isn't quite so heightened.

So what does this mean for the 76ers? Well, with Embiid sidelined, they lost just their second game since the end of November. Things were starting to look up for Philly, ever so slightly, but trending up slightly is better than trending down.

The timing of this is the most frustrating part. Embiid had just come back from injury with an emphatic performance against the Bulls. His 31 points were proof that he's still a dominant player when healthy. Unfortunately, he's struggled to stay healthy.

It's not clear exactly how many games Embiid could miss with this injury. Philadelphia doesn't play again until Monday, so he will have at least a couple of days to let the swelling go down and for doctors to determine the extent of the injury.

With luck, Embiid should be able to play through the injury with a mask with minimal time out. Of course, Philadelphia must always consider the unlucky side of the coin. You can never count out a lengthy absence when it comes to Embiid and freak injuries. Considering his previous injuries, the 76ers are likely to be cautious for fear of rushing him back too early.