Ben Simmons walks on stage after being drafted first overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center on June 23, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Mike Stobe/Getty Images/AFP
Australian playmaker Ben Simmons, the top pick in last year’s NBA draft, has been officially ruled out for the rest of what would have been his rookie season with the Philadelphia 76ers with a broken foot.
Simmons is “heartbroken” over the news that the injury to his right foot has not fully healed, 76ers general manager Bryan Colangelo said in making the announcement on Friday.
“I have always known that there was a desire to get him back on the court when healthy,” Colangelo said. “We’ve always anticipated there would be an opportunity for him to play, hopefully this season.
“But there was always the outside chance that it didn’t happen because there wasn’t complete and full healing. And we weren’t going to put Ben Simmons in a place where he was (susceptible) to a re-fracture.
“He’s heartbroken. He wants to play. He wants to be out there. It’s eating him alive, I’m sure.”
Simmons fractured his foot on September 30, the final day of pre-season training camp. He underwent surgery in October to repair an acute Jones fracture of the fifth metatarsal of his right foot.
The Sixers said his latest scan taken Thursday showed the injury was not healing as expected.
The 20-year-old Simmons has not appeared in a regular-season game. He has taken part in on-court practice drills but not scrimmages.
At 21-35 with 26 games remaining the 76ers are 13th in the Eastern Conference and six games behind Detroit for the last playoff spot.