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After missing the Philadelphia 76ers’ last eight games with a knee injury, reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid made his eagerness to return crystal clear.

Embiid suffered a meniscus injury on his left knee against the Golden State Warriors late in January. As a result, the 29-year-old underwent a procedure and will be re-evaluated next Tuesday.

In his absence, the 76ers have lost five of their last eight contest and have slid to a three-way tie for the fifth seed in the east. However, Embiid admitted how he hopes to return before the regular season wraps up and intends to play for the United States in the Paris Olympics this summer.

‘The same reason why I was pushing [to play] the last couple games [before I got hurt],’ Embiid told the media on Thursday. ‘I just love playing basketball. I want to be on the floor as much as possible. I only have about 20 years to do this.

‘So any chances that I get, I wanna be on the floor. So it doesn’t matter where we are [in the standings]. I just want to play as much as I can and try to help us.’

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid said that he hopes to return before this season ends 

Embiid has been out since late January after suffering a meniscus injury against the Warriors 

Before the injury, Embiid went on a remarkable run, tallying at least 30 points and ten rebounds for 16 consecutive games. During this streak, he scored a career-high 70 points against the San Antonio Spurs.

The feat put him on course to potentially the scoring тιтle for a third straight year before getting derailed by his injury just over a week later.

‘That’s why it was extremely disappointing,’ Embiid said, ‘because I was on a roll and I felt like I wasn’t even close to where I wanted to be, body-wise and basketball-wise, because I wasn’t at my best, so I felt like there was still another level that I could go to. It was very disappointing. But I was having fun, playing, getting a lot of wins, dominating.

‘The 70-point game was fun. I never would’ve thought that I could be in a position to score 70 in a basketball game and having the dominance that I was doing. It was fun, but it’s not over. The mindset is ‘come back if everything goes well, go from there.”

Although they have not been their best in recent games, the 76ers gained reinforcements at the trade ᴅᴇᴀᴅline by acquiring sharpshooter Buddy Hield from the Indiana Pacers. They also acquired veteran point guard Kyle Lowry in the buyout market.

The team made arguably the best acquisition during the trade saga in Hield and added a six-time All-Star with championship experience in Lowry. Although their additions are refreshing to a franchise hoping to build around Embiid, it made him more frustrated over sitting out for much of the late season.

Before getting hurt, Embiid scored at least 30 points and ten rebounds in 16 straight games

In Embiid’s absence, Philadelphia acquired sharpshooter Buddy Hield at the trade ᴅᴇᴀᴅline  

The 76ers also added six-time All-Star and former NBA Champion Kyle Lowry earlier this month

‘I told [Nick Nurse] after the first three games, I was like, ‘Man, I wish I was playing,’ because I was so excited because I feel like Buddy, the way he’s playing, I just felt like I could help him even more. Kyle, I talked to him, having him here, I think he’s gonna help us a lot. I think he’s gonna help me a lot. Just his experience. And then basketball-wise, he’s still really freaking good.

‘I thought [the front office] did as good of a job as they could have done based on what was happening that day. But as far as everything else, they’re fighting through everything, and they need to keep fighting to make sure that we keep winning.’

The 76ers have 24 games left this season, which includes an eight-game stretch through March where they play the Knicks (twice), Bucks, Hornets, and Heat in succession. This will be followed by consecutive games against the Suns, Lakers, and Clippers as the playoff race gets тιԍнтer.

While Embiid’s return remains without a timeline, Philadelphia holds a 33-25 record, with Indiana and Orlando creeping from the top of the Play-In picture.

‘We’ve been struggling lately, but I believe in all those guys,’ Embiid said of his team. ‘It happens. Everybody go through rough patches.