The Injury List Has Nine Names. Only Two Have a Real Diagnosis

By the 76ers Nightly Desk · Wednesday, October 14

Philadelphia closes its preseason slate Friday against Boston, carrying a roster where most of the injury list is about rest, not damage. The real concerns — Hukporti's Achilles and Bona's lingering foot — are the ones actually worth tracking into the opener.

76ers Nightly artwork — Illustration by Hoops Nightly.

How many of these nine injuries are actually real?

Two. Ariel Hukporti's Achilles injury wipes out this whole season, and Adem Bona has carried an unresolved foot and leg issue since September 17. The rest — Barlow, Brown, Simons, Embiid, James, Fall, Caldwell-Pope — are tagged for rest or unspecified reasons, all slated to clear by Friday's finale against Boston.

What did this week's practice reports actually show?

Gina Mizell reported that Bona and Simons were still only partial participants in practice on October 13, and that Barlow sat out entirely. Nurse said he's hopeful one or both could suit up Friday against Boston. That's the clearest sign yet this list is mostly about pacing, not new setbacks.

Does one win and two losses in the preseason mean anything?

Not much. Philadelphia opened by beating New York 120-97 on October 5, then lost twice on the road: 108-114 at Brooklyn, then 106-144 at Boston. None of it counts, and the record resets to 0-0 again October 20 at the Knicks, the game that actually matters.

Should fans actually worry about Hukporti long-term?

Yes, more than any other name on this list. His status slid from shifting leg trouble on October 5 to an Achilles diagnosis the next day, with a return path stretching into October 2027. That's not a preseason blip — that's a lost year for a 24-year-old center.

Is Bona's foot the quieter problem nobody's talking about?

It's the one lingering longest. He's been limited since September 17 with no clearance since, and the October 13 practice report still lists him as partial, not full. If he's not ready by the opener October 20 at New York, the frontcourt rotation behind Embiid gets thin fast.

The verdictStrip out the rest tags and this team has two real injury problems — Hukporti's Achilles and Bona's foot — not nine. Everything else clears by Friday.

Is Joel Embiid injured right now?

No. His tag this week was rest-related, not an injury, and he's expected back for Friday's preseason finale against Boston.

When might Ariel Hukporti return?

His Achilles diagnosis puts his timeline into October 2027, which rules him out for essentially all of this season.