Joel Embiid’s absence on Thursday wasn’t due to load management.Hours before the game began, news broke that Embiid would miss Thursday’s game against the Houston Rockets with an illness.Joel Embiid was ruled out for Thursday’s game against the RocketsGettyThe reaction to Embiid missing the game wasn’t great, in particular, 97.5 The Fanatic host Jon Marks stormed out of the studio in disgust.Embiid’s injured plagued last few seasons have lost him the benefit of doubt with one of the best players in the NBA has missing numerous games in his career.The 76ers later confirmed that Embiid was undergoing an emergency appendectomy at a Houston hospital.When it was revealed to be appendicitis, Marks took to social media to apologize for his earlier reaction.“Oh my God, Joel Embiid has appendicitis after I pretty much said I was faking it during my show today,” Marks said.“I feel like a real, real idiot. So I have to put this out there right now.“Like a lot of people did, but I’m on the radio, and based on his history, I thought it was just more of the same with Joel Embiid.“Apparantley, according to the Sixers, he has appendicitis, and he’s gonna undergo surgery. I feel like an idiot, I apologize.”Embiid had put on a 34-point performance against San Antonio earlier this week, possibly while dealing with early symptoms of appendicitis.Injury analyst Jeff Stotts pointed that athletes often take an estimated period of 23 days to recover from an appendectomy procedure, which would roughly be around 10 games in terms of an NBA schedule.Embiid underwent an emergency appendectomy at a Houston hospitalGettyMarks took to social media to apologise for his initial reaction to Embiid being ruled out.X formerly Twitter / @JonMarksMediaJust when everyone thought the 76ers were heading back to the postseason after their one-year hiatus, Embiid’s scare has cast doubt on that.The US Olympic gold medal winner will now miss the rest of the regular season, and he will also likely miss at least the start of the postseason.The 76ers are firmly in the play-in tournament picture, meaning they will have to sneak into the playoffs, especially with Embiid expected to be out for some time.With Embiid off the court, Philadelphia were beaten by a score of 113-102 by the Rockets, leaving them with a 43-37 record.They have just two-games left on their regular season schedule, and are deadlocked with the Charlotte Hornets for eighth place in the standings out East.The 32-year-old averaged 26.9 points and 7.7 rebounds in 38 games this season, regaining his form after last season in which he appeared in just 19 games.Embiid has bounced back after an injury-riddled 24-25 seasonGettyEmbiid’s surgery was successful, but the Sixers now face an uphill climb without their star.Stay up to date with the latest from the NBA across all platforms – follow our dedicated talkSPORT USA Facebook page and subscribe to our talkSPORT USA YouTube channel for all the news, exclusives, interviews and more.