The injury couldn't have come at a worse time. Just a week before the NBA draft, Joel Embiid suffered a serious fracture, and USA Today is saying this could spell disaster for the strong candidate for No. 1 pick.

"Joel Embiid suffered a stress fracture to the navicular bone in his right foot," his agent, Arn Tellem, said in a statement. He is headed for the surgery room tomorrow.

"Joel will be unable to participate in any additional workouts, and will not attend the draft in New York," the same statement said, indicating just how serious an injury the 7-foot player incurred before the big day at Barclays Center.

Cleveland Cavaliers seemed determined to draft Embiid with the first pick before the injury, USA Today added. But the decisiveness might have waned now, with odds possibly changing in favor of Andrew Wiggins or Jabari Parker.

A repeat of last year could happen, the report said, with Nerlens Noel bypassed with the No. 1 pick because he was recovering from a knee injury.

Even before the Thursday reports surfaced, Embiid's health was already a major storyline, Kansas City said.

Embiid, who was discovered at a camp in his native Cameroon, suffered a stress fracture in his lower back in the final weeks of his freshman season, thus missing both the Big 12 tournament and NCAA Tournament.

He had also missed a game at the beginning of the season because of a sore back, the report said, adding that if not for the health issues, the No. 1 pick would have been slated for him--with his size, coordination and rapid development inside the court factored in.

"He's a very, very, very good athlete and he's a sponge," coach Bill Self said this week, as quoted by Kansas City, addressing the player's remarkable uphill trajectory in just three years.

During pre-draft workouts, he set out to prove that his back was healthy but now finds the problem compounded, Kansas City said, citing the cases of Yao Ming and Bill Walton, who both suffered similar injuries to the navicular bone and faced years of nagging foot issues.

This might not augur well for him as he shoots for the NBA Hall of Fame, which he has told USA Today about.

USA Today said the cloud of doubt could further prompt Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers, who hold the second and third picks, to pass on Embiid. It also speculated that he could slide out of the top five.

As of now, reports say small forwards Andrew Wiggins of Kansas and Jabari Parker of Duke lead contenders to replace Embiid--and the Cavs might just take these two options seriously instead of pondering on Embiid's medical reports.