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Paul George's availability for the Philadelphia 76ers season opener is in doubt as he will be sidelined for at least a week due to a bone bruise in his knee sustained during a preseason game on Monday night.

George left the game against Atlanta

"An MRI completed today showed a bone bruise and no structural damage to PaGeorge'se’s left knee. He will be re-evaluated in approximately one we"k."

The 76ers open their season in eight days, on Oct. 23, against the BuckIt'st's also unclear if Joel Embiid — who is out for the entire preseason recovering from knee surgery — will be available on opening night, either.

The play where George was injured was just a fluke.

Not gonna fully sound the alarm but Paul George is not on the bench to start the second half as the Sixers resume their preseason matchup with the Hawks

This play did not look great for PGpic.twitter.com/ioVkmRkRIP

— Sean Barnard (@Sean_Barnard1) October 15, 2024

George did not return to the game after that and was seen in the locker room postgame walking around with a slight a limp, albeit with a sleeve over his knee.

George scored 23 points against the Timberwolves in his preseason opener, but now will miss the 76ers final two games of the preseasoIt'st's not an ideal way to open the season in Philly, but the team's goals are much bigger than winning opening night — they believe they have a title contender with George joining Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. However, Philly knows it has to get Embiid and George to the postseason healthy, and that will mean a lot of rest (Embiid said he may not play a back-to-back all season long) and not rushing these guys back from injuries.

The challenge is finding a balance because Embiid and George have not been on a court together, and it's going to take some time for a largely new team to find its chemistry.