The Sixers were pleased with the results of Joel Embiid’s first trip to the Aspetar facility in Qatar and decided to send him back for another stay.
Embiid is overseas to continue training and rehab from foot surgery, a source confirmed to CSNPhilly.com on Saturday. Brett Brown on Sunday said Embiid did not suffer any setbacks.
“The place is very enclosed,” Brown said prior to the game against the visiting Boston Celtics. “It’s one-stop shopping with everything just tight. You can imagine a tight dormitory, a tight facility that has all the resources you could ever ask for in a very private setting, no distractions. We liked it so much we went back.”
Embiid first went to Aspetar in mid-February. This time, he was accompanied by Dr. David Martin, the Sixers' director of performance research and development, and other members of the team staff.
“It was always going to be on the table — how do we use it further in the future?” Brown said. “But because of the success, as I just said, that process was expedited.”
When asked if Embiid is moving forward, Brown replied, “Absolutely, no doubt.” Brown included body weight, sleep, body mass assessment and healing as some of the positive results the team saw from Embiid’s first visit.
“Maybe more important than anything, Joel bought in in a large way and the results were starting to show,” Brown said. “We test drove it, we liked what we saw a lot, led by a group of us that assessed it and Joel’s reaction to it.”
Okafor surgery set for Tuesday
Jahlil Okafor will undergo surgery on Tuesday to repair a small right meniscus tear, Brown said. Okafor is in Florida for the arthroscopic procedure. Brown did not have the names of the doctor or facility where the surgery will take place.
“I know that a lot of discussion was had with those doctors that we talked about, both from our side and from Jah’s side,” Brown said. “People feel very comfortable where we’ve ended up in regards to who will actually be doing the operation. I don’t have that information now, I’m sure that has been determined but I don’t know that now.”