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Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid will return for Game 4 of his team's first-round Eastern Conference Playoff series against the Boston Celtics Sunday (April 26) night following recent surgery for appendicitis, ESPN's Shams Charania reports.
"76ers star Joel Embiid will return tonight in Game 4 against the Celtics over two weeks after surgery for appendicitis," Charania wrote on his X account.
Embid, 32, was upgraded from doubtful to questionable and seen taking shots during the Sixers' pregame warmup routine on Sunday. The former NBA MVP averaged 26.9 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists while being limited to 38 games during the 2025-26 NBA regular season.
Embiid was a partial participant in the Sixers' practices this past week and head coach Nick Nurse was optimistic that he could make a return for the current playoff series, with the Celtics currently holding a 2-1 lead.
"We're, obviously, really hopeful, and I think he's really hopeful," Nurse said via Yahoo Sports. "He wants to play, and we want him to play. I don't know how close we are to that at this point, but I think there's some progress being made. Let's hope it keeps that way. Keeps going that way."
Philadelphia hasn't defeated Boston in a playoff series since 1982.
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