Joel Embiid has stress fracture in back - out at least conf. tourney and 1st weekend of NCAA
Feel terrible for the kid as he was having a great season and was the possible #1 overall NBA Draft pick. The debate over top seeds is going to be pretty crazy this year.
http://www2.kusports.com/news/2014/mar/10/joel-embiid-ruled-out-big-12-tournament/?mens_basketball
March 10th, 2014 at 10:05 PM ^
March 10th, 2014 at 10:11 PM ^
March 10th, 2014 at 10:20 PM ^
I'm no doctor, but I would be surprised if he's available at all this season.
March 10th, 2014 at 10:35 PM ^
I think released statements on injuries right before Selection Sunday are usually the most optimistic takes on injuries in order to do the least amount of harm to their seeding. Most recent case I can recall was Syracuse's Arinze Onuaku whom the school called day to day in the lead up to the tournament, but he ended up having a serious leg injury and missed the rest of the season.
March 10th, 2014 at 11:30 PM ^
March 10th, 2014 at 11:35 PM ^
I'd bet he is out until he declares. Kansas is just reporting this because the selection committe takes injuries into account when seeding.
March 10th, 2014 at 10:30 PM ^
March 10th, 2014 at 11:12 PM ^
that your son had "the same" back stress fracture. and i doubt your son's situation--which is terrible, btw..really shitty--is a useful indicator of what embiid is going through.
March 10th, 2014 at 11:22 PM ^
It's probably more informed than most of the conjecture that will occur on this thread, though.
By the way, I was not the one that down-voted you.
March 11th, 2014 at 12:03 AM ^
It's probably the exact same one.
The only "stress fracture" to the back that results in sitting a young athlete is a pars defect. If untreated, can result in an unstable spondylolisthesis. A spinous or transverse process fracture does not effect the structural integrity of the spine; it just hurts like hell. Given the age (healthy bones) without trauma (classically jumping out a window to avoid fire), the fracture will not involve the vertebral body itself.
And yes, I do this for a living (spine physician). Although it hasn't leaked, what Embiid has is what I guessed McGary had, but Mitch may have undergone a fusion procedure.
Embiid returning at all for the tourney is questionable unless the docs are doing serial MRIs to check for decreased T2/STIR intensity on sagittal imaging while imobilizing his spine. And even then, you are opening yourself up for future liability pushing the return to play timeline that aggressively. 6 weeks for an active pars defect minimum, with lots of rehab to regain the core strength you lose while braced.
I dont recall Mitch ever being braced in clam shell post op in accordance with most fusion protocols.
I still believe it was a minimally invasive procedure with a good chance of return tournament time.
Just coming out dressed and running warm ups with the Team would be a huge boost for them and better yet mess with the psychology of the other team.
March 11th, 2014 at 10:01 AM ^
There has been movement away from the TLSO (turtle/clam shell brace) after lumbar surgeries in my experience. I know my partner will use them for an extensive fusion, but most will put their patients in what looks like a glorified weight belt (with hard plastic to limit extension) for 2-3 levels lumbosacral instrumentation.
March 11th, 2014 at 10:07 AM ^
gopoohgo - if Mitch had a stress fracture, why the surgery before trying the brace first? My understanding (from discussing with doc) is that the brace will work in the vast majority of the cases; and only then if it didn't work, would surgery be the next step.
Yeah, I'm just saying that he had a stress fracture in his back and that is what he had to go through. Its wasn't really really painful for him and its possible to play through but if his is what I expect, he will have to rest it for months.
Maybe his situation is different; I guess we'll find out.
And yes, as gopoohgo said, it was the pars defect. The only question is if it is both the left and right. But, the recovery is likely the same.
March 10th, 2014 at 10:34 PM ^
i don't mind UM being in the kansas region now.
March 10th, 2014 at 10:38 PM ^
Here's to a fast recovery for him. If I'm him, though, may consider shutting it down given how much is on the line in the NBA draft. He's got to think about the long game. Bill Self will have this talk with him - he seems to know a bit about putting guys into the NBA.
March 10th, 2014 at 10:43 PM ^
It's hard to say, but the rehab alone for this type of injury will put his return to play at 4-6 weeks out, best case scenario. Consider him done for the year.
March 10th, 2014 at 11:07 PM ^
That just sucks. I thought he was the most unwinnable matchup in the country, hands down.
The idea of Embiid being out of the tourney for Kansas, and Ashley for Arizona, I thought those were the two best teams in the country, and now everything is up in the air.
March 10th, 2014 at 11:11 PM ^
March 10th, 2014 at 11:14 PM ^
have health concerns while at osu? i wouldn't overestimate gm's abilities to learn from previous mistakes...
March 10th, 2014 at 11:31 PM ^
Obviously no two injuries are exactly alike, but I think it is a bit early to call Embiid injury prone or that he doesn't go #1. Embiid's body mechanics are like Drummond in that his movements are extremely fluid. This is much different from other lumbering big men like Greg Oden who may end up with more injuries because of it.
Drummond missed about 2 months during his rookie season with the injury (no surgery was required) and has had no problems since. I wouldn't be surprised to see Embiid miss the rest of the season to get healthy for the NBA Draft based on how long Drummond was out.
March 10th, 2014 at 11:16 PM ^
Yeah, stress fracture of the back doesn't seem like a thing you recover from quickly. A big loss for Kansas, but they have the talent to still make a run.
March 10th, 2014 at 11:20 PM ^
Yeah I feel horrible for Self. He only has the second coming of Lebron - Wiggins - to work with, and another top 10 recruiting class next year. Boohoo poor Kansas.
March 11th, 2014 at 12:03 AM ^
Only Sparty has injuries.
Except for that they have all-world Wiggins playing who lit it up for over 40 recently... Last three teams I'll ever sympathise with in hoops are Kansas/Kentucky/Duke. Caveat - feel bad for the kid, blah, blah.
That's certainly not what you want to hear if you're Joel Embiid or Kansas, especially since Embiid just won Defensive Player Of The Year in the Big 12 and, as the OP mentions, was a potential #1 pick in the draft. However, this sounds like something you probably don't want to mess with and make worse, this injury, so hopefully Embiid is on the mend soon.
I just hope the coach and announcers don't constantly remind us of what a tough row to hoe Kansas has with a player out with an injury. Michigan State played without Jay Vincent in their 1979 NCAA championship game, and there was no constant pissing and moaning about that.
hehe
Yes, I could have not clicked on the topic, but I did because I specifically wanted to post this.
Not against you personally, just a personal vent against the insane over-exposure Kansas/Duke/Kentucky already get, now expanded futher here, by you. This kid's injury will have little impact on Kansas' seeding given their record is 99% of what is considered. Further, they have all-world Wiggins who recently lit up for 40 in a game, so no small violins, ever, for Kansas.
Feel bad for the kid too, blah, blah, but when if I wanted Duke, Kansas or Kentucky over analysis I could just visit ESPN, to go along with their Tony Romo, Tiger Woods, Yankees and Lakers updates every 15 minutes.