Covington takes step forward in rehab; Embiid does ‘a little bit’ of

Covington takes step forward in rehab; Embiid does ‘a little bit’ of practice originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

CAMDEN, N.J. — Robert Covington’s rehab appears to be moving in the right direction.

Though the veteran forward’s return from his long-term left knee injury is not imminent, he’s clearly made recent progress.

“It’s his first time back around (practice),” Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said Sunday afternoon. “He has been on the court a few days. He did get out and participate in parts of practice today. It’s a good step forward. Hopefully, it’ll keep going forward.

“That’s kind of the thing with him. Each day you’ve got to check to see how it responds to some court time — extended court time. He had a pretty long session yesterday, and it looks like they’re going at it again a little bit longer. He’s tolerating everything so far, so hopefully he keeps going.”

Covington, who’s been sidelined since Dec. 30, took catch-and-shoot jumpers following practice.

According to Nurse, the Sixers held a non-contact practice and Covington participated in “most of” the drills.

“I think, again, you’re into this kind of ramp-up phase,” Nurse said. “But I just think with him, it’s a little different because … you’ve got to check that his knee can handle it, not swell up again and need to pull back.”

With all due respect to Covington, Joel Embiid’s injured left knee is of greater importance to the Sixers.

Nicolas Batum acknowledged as much by opening his post-practice media session with a brief statement in an amusing, “Let’s get this out of the way” tone.

“Yes, he practiced,” Batum said. “He looked good. He lifted. I don’t know when he’s coming back. I hope soon.”

Indeed, that just about covered what Nurse had shared 10 minutes or so prior. Nurse said Embiid “went through a little bit of the practice — all non-contact stuff.”

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