Bryce Harper, Joel Embiid and the most devastating injuries in Philly sports history

The words “maybe next year” generally emerge for Philadelphia sports fans reeling from a major postseason loss or the dissolution of what looked like a hopeful regular season.

But in some cases, that grueling pain can be caused by an athlete’s devastating injury. While injuries are inevitable, they are not created equal. Philly fans know this all too well after watching major injuries at the least opportune times.

Here are some of the most notable injuries in Philly sports history, and the details behind moments that sank a promising team’s window or a prominent player’s career.

» READ MORE: Bryce Harper expects trade-deadline help. It’s up to his Phillies teammates to make it happen.

The Eagles’ season opener against the Packers on Sept. 2, 1991, was a game that fans would not forget.

Randall Cunningham, who was a second-round pick by the Eagles in the 1985 NFL draft, was entering his seventh season as quarterback. Packers defensive lineman Bryce Paup lunged at Cunningham’s knee in the second quarter and the Eagles QB suffered two torn ligaments. The Eagles won, 20-3, but Cunningham was out for the rest of the season as backup Jim McMahon took over. The idea of the Eagles being Super Bowl champions was dashed right as the season started.

When he returned the next season, Cunningham led the team to its first playoff victory in 12 years, but he started to deal with other complications. Then on Oct. 3, 1993, Cunningham suffered a broken left leg against the Jets. The Eagles had a 4-0 record after beating the Jets but went on to lose eight of their next nine games.

» READ MORE: The Eagles don’t need Jalen Hurts to be the next Randall Cunningham. They just need him to be him. | Mike Sielski

Center Eric Lindros’ career was heavily impacted by injuries. He was considered one of the most dominant prospects in the NHL, coming to the Flyers in a blockbuster 1992 trade with the Quebec Nordiques. Flyers fans were ecstatic to receive a player who could turn the team around.

In his eight seasons with the Flyers, Lindros had multiple concussions that led to other concerns. The first time he was diagnosed with a concussion was in 1998, after he was hit by the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Darius Kasparaitis. The hit left him sidelined for 18 games.

The worst injury he suffered came against the Nashville Predators on April 1,1999. After he suffered what was thought to be a rib injury, it was revealed that Lindros had a collapsed lung that caused internal bleeding. The following season, Lindros took a massive hit from New Jersey Devils defenseman Scott Stevens. Lindros was unconscious before his helmet hit the ice in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals. That wound up being Lindros’ last game with the Flyers.

Wide receiver Terrell Owens joined the Eagles in a 2004 trade with the San Francisco 49ers. Owens already had a connection with Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb. The team needed a talented passing target for McNabb, and with running back Brian Westbrook in the mix, the Eagles held high hopes heading into the season.

On Dec. 19, 2004, the 12-1 Eagles played the Dallas Cowboys. Cowboys safety Roy Williams wrapped up Owens with a horse-collar tackle that left the receiver with a sprained ankle and a fractured fibula. Although the Eagles beat the Cowboys 12-7, Owens was expected to miss the rest of the season since his injury required surgery.

After the Eagles beat the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC championship game, Owens went against his doctor’s advice and played in Super Bowl XXXIX against the New England Patriots. He started and had nine receptions for 122 yards, but the Eagles lost, 24-21.

The Phillies finished the 2011 season with a 102-60-0 record, finishing first in the NL East. With a squad that included Ryan Howard, Roy Halladay, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, and Carlos Ruiz, it seemed as though they were on their way to a World Series appearance.

In a National League Division Series loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, however, Howard suffered a torn Achilles tendon on a groundout in the final play of Game 5. The 1-0 defeat was a heartbreaking finish that ended the Phillies’ chances of extending their postseason and forever altered Howard’s career. The 2006 NL MVP, Howard hit 382 home runs in his career, but he never exceeded 25 homers in a season in the five campaigns after his injury.

It could be fair to say Carson Wentz never was the same player after his injury on Dec. 10, 2017.

In Week 14 against the Los Angeles Rams, Wentz left the game because of a knee injury. The next day, an MRI exam revealed that he suffered a torn ACL, a tragic moment for Eagles fans. But the Eagles ended up beating the Rams, 43-35, and earned the NFC East title. Backup quarterback Nick Foles took over under center and led the Eagles to their first Super Bowl win against the Patriots.

Wentz, now the Washington Commanders’ quarterback, finished the 2017 season with 3,296 passing yards, 33 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. He fell out of favor in Philadelphia after his recovery and was gone after the 2020 season, when he was picked off a league-high 15 times.

In 76ers center Joel Embiid’s career, he has missed more than three full seasons because of injuries.

And he sustained another tough injury in the 2022 NBA playoffs. After suffering a ligament tear in his right thumb in Game 4 of a first-round series against the Toronto Raptors, Embiid still did not miss a game in the series. Embiid then suffered a concussion and right orbital fracture when Raptors forward Pascal Siakam drove inside and hit him with an elbow in the series-clinching playoff win against Toronto.

Embiid missed the first two games of the Eastern Conference semifinals against Miami Heat. The Sixers lost the series to the Heat in Game 6 while their star center played with the thumb injury and wore a mask. He waited until the offseason to undergo thumb surgery.

» READ MORE: Joel Embiid’s complicated injury history: Breaking down every setback he’s suffered as a Sixer

Last month, Bryce Harper, a two-time National League MVP, gripped his thumb after a 97-mph pitch from Padres left-hander Blake Snell hit his left hand.

Harper suffered a fractured thumb and underwent surgery, which required three pins to be inserted for three weeks. It’s not clear when Harper will return this season, but playing without him is an added challenge for the Phillies as they try to end their 10-year postseason drought.