Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid returned to action Sunday, taking his place in the starting five for the crucial Game 4 matchup against the Boston Celtics in their Eastern Conference first-round playoff battle.
The star big man had been absent from the court since April 6, when he underwent emergency surgery to remove his appendix while the team was traveling in Texas. Team officials had marked him as doubtful for Game 3, where he remained on the sidelines, and initially carried the same designation into Game 4 before elevating his status to questionable roughly an hour prior to game time.
Team officials have not disclosed how many minutes Embiid might see or what limitations may be placed on his playing time during his return.
The former league Most Valuable Player, who has earned five All-NBA team selections, managed to appear in just 38 regular season contests this year due to various health issues. During those appearances, he posted averages of 26.9 points per game along with 7.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.2 blocks.
The Celtics currently hold a 2-1 advantage in the playoff series.
