LAWRENCE, Kan. — After re-injuring his back during a Saturday night loss at Oklahoma State, Kansas freshman center Joel Embiid will miss the Jayhawks’ final two regular season games, according to head coach Bill Self.
“I would, right now, think that’s what we will go to, is give him a little bit of time,” Self said. “But I don’t know how long that will be, and certainly I don’t think it’s anything that will affect postseason.”
Embiid fell to the floor in obvious pain after being fouled in the second-half against the Cowboys. He finished the contest with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Earlier this season, Embiid missed a home game against TCU because of back problems. This latest injury has been described as a re-aggravation of a lower back strain.
Kansas will finish its regular season schedule with a home game against Texas Tech (Wednesday), followed by a road contest at West Virginia (Saturday). After the regular season finale, the Jayhawks are set to play on Thursday afternoon, March 13th during the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship in Kansas City at the Sprint Center.
“We’ve made a decision that since we are so close to the postseason, we will re-evaluate him on Sunday,” Self said. “If the discomfort ceases, he should be able to practice on Monday (March 10) and participate in the Big 12 Championship. If he’s still having symptoms of tightness and soreness, then we will look at sitting him longer through the postseason conference tournament, but there is no reason why he should not be feeling much better by the NCAA Tournament. The doctors feel that amount of time off should do him wonders for how he is feeling.”