Joel Embiid’s availability has always been an issue. How bad will it be for the Sixers this time?

It’s always been about Joel Embiid’s availability.

Would the 76ers’ standout remain healthy? How many games would he miss? Would the seven-time All-Star starter be on a minutes restriction?

A versatile and imposing big man with a high basketball IQ, no one ever questioned Embiid’s ability. The 30-year-old will go down as one of the most skilled center to ever play this game.

He just continues to have unfortunate luck, dealing with a major injury in each of his 11 seasons in the NBA.

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During Friday’ 121-107 loss to the Indiana Pacers, the 2023 league MVP took a blow on the right side of his face from Benedict Mathurin underneath the Indiana Pacers baskets with 12.0 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

After falling to the court, Embiid left the game with 6.5 seconds before intermission and didn’t return.

It appeared that Mathurin’s left forearm and the area just below his wristband struck Embiid in the head and cheek. At first glance, it didn’t look like a blow that Embiid and the Sixers should be concerned about. But he suffered a sinus fracture, which is a break in the bones surrounding the sinuses, on the play. Embiid will be reevaluated this weekend.

And this isn’t the first time he suffered a facial fracture. On April 28, 2022, he suffered a concussion and orbital fracture near his right eye when he received an elbow from Pascal Siakam in the Sixers’ Game 6 victory to clinch the first-round series over the Toronto Raptors. Siakam, ironically, is now a forward for the Pacers (11-15).

The 2022 fracture led Embiid to miss the first two games of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Miami Heat. An orbital bone fracture near his left eye sidelined him the final eight games of the 2017-18 regular season and Games 1 and 2 of the Sixers’ opening-round playoff series with the Miami Heat.

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Embiid did not speak to the media following Friday’s game. But the recovery time for nose fractures usually take three to six weeks to heal. It will be interesting to see if Embiid plays with a mask like he did while waiting for his orbital fractures to heal the last time around.

The time Embiid misses for this injury will be added to a long list of ailments. He missed 17 of this season’s first 22 games because of knee swelling, personal reasons and a three-game suspension.

“It’s unfortunate that he’s one of the best players in the league and he doesn’t get to show it as much as he wishes he could,” Ricky Council IV said. “Man, it’s tough. I mean, he’s a great player. But the injuries keep creeping up on him. I know he’s going to fight through it.”

This injury has also come at an inopportune time for the Sixers, who dropped to 7-16 with the loss. There’s still 59 games remaining in the regular season for what was supposed to be a championship-or-bust season. But the Sixers currently find themselves in 12th place in the Eastern Conference standings.

Even though the squad acquired Paul George during the offseason, their success ultimately depends on Embiid’s health. But give them credit for remaining confident, at least outwardly, that they can still compete.

“It’s difficult, but it has to happen,” said Tyrese Maxey. “That’s kinda just life, you know what I mean? I feel like we have to overcome that. We did a decent job of that, though. We got the game close and then exerted a lot of energy trying to keep it close.”

The Sixers did battle back from a 19-point deficit Friday to close the gap to five points in the fourth quarter.

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“You just try to pick up the pieces and for us, we were down 11 going into that third quarter,” added Paul George. “We had to pick it up, find some energy, and pick it up.”

Embiid’s latest injury only gives his critics another opportunity to point to his lack of durability.

He sat out his first two seasons because of two foot surgeries. Then he had season-ending surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his left knee during the 2016-17 campaign. The following year, he missed time because of the orbital bone fracture near his left eye.

Embiid missed time during the 2018-19 season with tendinitis in his left knee. During the 2019-20 season, he missed time after having surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left ring finger and other ailments. He was less than 100% in the 2019 postseason because of tendinitis. And during the 2019-20 season, Embiid twisted his left ankle with four games left in the regular season.

Then, in 2021, the Sixers had a 3-0 series lead over the Washington Wizards in their opening round. In Game 4, Embiid suffered a small lateral meniscus tear in the first quarter of the Sixers’ 122-114 loss. In 2023, Embiid suffered an LCL sprain in his right knee and missed Game 4 of the first-round series versus the Brooklyn Nets. He also missed Game 1 of the conference semifinal series against the Boston Celtics.

Last season, Embiid played in just 39 regular season games in large part due to suffering a torn meniscus in his left knee.

And his condition has only been magnified this season.

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“We know it’s tough on him,” KJ Martin said. “Obviously, he’s our teammate. Me and other guys want what’s best for his well being. ... Just for him to deal with the knee thing and come back, now it’s his face. It’s like a whole bunch of stuff.

“As a team, he’s obviously the MVP of the league, so it’s tough playing without him. He’s does so much for us. But at the same time, we’re all professionals at the end of the day. So we’re going to have to figure it out.”