On Monday afternoon, the Philadelphia 76ers hosted the Houston Rockets to open their weekly slate. Heading into the matchup, the Sixers upgraded their star center, Joel Embiid, from out to questionable.

After going through his pregame routine on the court, Embiid was deemed healthy and ready to go. Lately, the big man has been dealing with multiple setbacks, with his most recent being inflammation/swelling in his knee after twisting it against the New York Knicks on January 5.

Following a four-game absence, Embiid returned to the court for two matchups. After his minor setback against the Knicks, Embiid went on to miss three games in a row. When he returned to face the Rockets on Monday, the big man checked in for 31 minutes. During that time, he produced 41 points, ten rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block.

After the game, Embiid explained his recent string of absences, leaving little worry about the severity of his knee-related concerns.

“We just wanted to make sure that we knew what was going on and also, this is the perfect time because the goal is to be ready for April, May, June,” Embiid told reporters. “We just wanted to make sure that it was, you know, we knew what was happening for us, and also making sure that we see, we look at the long run and get ready for what’s to come next.”

Will Embiid Continue Playing on Tuesday?

Embiid and the Sixers don’t have much time to rest and recover after their victory against the Rockets. On Tuesday, the Sixers are scheduled to complete a back-to-back with the defending champions in town.

According to the Sixers’ injury report, Embiid is not listed for Tuesday’s game against the Denver Nuggets. Therefore, the big man is available against the Nuggets in the Sixers’ first outing against Denver this season.

The Sixers and the Nuggets are set to battle it out at 7:30 PM ET on Tuesday.