Embiid missed over two months of action after suffering a knee injury during a game against the Golden State Warriors at the end of January.
Having undergone surgery to repair the lateral meniscus in his left knee, Embiid sat out 29 straight games with the Sixers slumping from 29-17 to 40-35 in that time.
The Sixers have gone 14-27 without the reigning NBA MVP overall this campaign, and they were buoyed by his return on Tuesday as he finished their 109-105 win with 24 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
Opening up on the toll his injury took, Embiid said: "Usually I just tell myself, 'move on to the next one', get better, and then fix it, but this one took a toll mentally, being depressed, it was not good.
"So, I'm still not where I'm supposed to be, especially mentally, but I just love to play and love basketball and I want to play. Any chance that I have to be out there, I'm going to take it.
"For some reason this injury was just disappointing. It was depressing. It took me a while to get over it, and I still haven't gotten over it. So I've just got to take it day by day, look at the positives.
"I'm back. So, hopefully every single day, I'll try to get better and get back to myself."
Embiid was limited to just 29 minutes on the court, but only Kelly Oubre Jr., with 25 points, bettered his return as Philadelphia boosted their playoff hopes by making it back-to-back wins.
"Minutes-wise, that was probably where I thought we would end up," head coach Nick Nurse said. "I thought we had a good start and it mapped out something like that, minutes-wise.
"He scored some, I thought he passed the ball really well, but when we start amping up our defense in the last six minutes he was down there again.
"Some of those drives didn't look as productive, so that to me is where I really thought he impacted the game. He looked pretty good for not playing for a couple of months, that's for sure."
The Raptors have confirmed Barnes, who is a Rookie of the Year finalist, sprained his left ankle in the fourth quarter of the series-opening 131-111 loss to the 76ers.
That would put the fourth overall pick's involvement in Monday's game in Philadelphia in significant doubt, as coach Nick Nurse acknowledged.
Gary Trent Jr. is ill, meanwhile, and Thaddeus Young has injured his left thumb.
"Listen, it doesn't look good for any of those guys," Nurse said after Sunday's practice.
"They're all going to be listed as probably doubtful, so it doesn't look good for any of them. We'll evaluate them as we go and see where we end up."
Embiid had 29 points, also adding eight rebounds and six assists, as the Sixers succumbed to a 111-104 defeat at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.
He made one stunning play near the end of the first half, finishing with a one-handed dunk after passing to himself off the backboard, but that came at a cost as he then left for the final two minutes and 37 seconds of the second quarter.
Embiid seemed to land awkwardly on his left leg after that play and immediately dropped to the ground before getting up and walking straight to the locker room.
Embiid rejoined his team-mates on the floor at the start of the second half, but with the reigning MVP recently missing two months after undergoing meniscus surgery, the incident left fans concerned.
Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse is positive regarding his chances of featuring in Game 2 on Monday, saying: "He really is a warrior, and he's battling.
"I think he absolutely wants to play. I knew when I went in at halftime that they were checking him out and that he was up and moving.
"They did say we are seeing, they didn't rule him out yet. They just took him all the way to the end there to get him ruled back in."
The Sixers outscored the Knicks by 14 points during Embiid's 37 minutes on the court, being outscored by 21 points during the 11 minutes he spent out of the game.
Tyrese Maxey, who led Philadelphia with 33 points and was 14-of-26 shooting, says Embiid will suit up for Monday's contest if physically able to.
"Nothing with Joel surprises me now," Maxey said. "He's always a fighter. He's always going to try and give it his all for his team. So if he thinks he can go, he'll for sure be out there."
The Clippers are acquiring Harden and Tucker in a blockbuster trade with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Filip Petrusev is also joining the Clippers, with Marcus Morris, Robert Covington, Nic Batum and KJ Martin heading the other way.
Harden, who was in attendance as the Clippers beat the Orlando Magic on Tuesday, had been in a dispute with the 76ers, and missed their opening game of the season – a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks – and their second fixture, a win over the Toronto Raptors.
The 10-time All-Star played alongside both Tucker and Westbrook at the Houston Rockets, and the latter, who refused to confirm the trade before it was made official, could not hide his delight.
"Right now, James and P.J. are off-limits. I got nothing for you until it's official," Westbrook smiled, as per ESPN.
Asked if he was happy, Westbrook said: "Yeah. I mean, s***, why wouldn't I be?
"Yeah, excuse my language, but definitely, definitely happy."
As for the Sixers, Tyrese Maxey is set to inherit the point forward role Harden occupied in the roster.
"I think our group has been prepared," Maxey said. "I think we've done a good job of keeping the main thing the main thing, and I think that's what's gotten us all to a solid start.
"We have some really good guys that are focused, that are determined to go out there and play and show what we can do, and [a] coach that's keeping our mind in the right place."
Maxey also had a special word of thanks for his former teammate.
"I texted him and I told him I love him, told him I appreciate him," Maxey added of Harden. "One thing that he really installed in me is confidence. I've always been a confident person, but he made me be even more confident than I already was, and all I can do is appreciate him for that.
"He took me under his wing, taught me a lot of things as far as just being a professional in this league and how things go. So I appreciate him and I love him. Same thing with Tuck. Love those guys."
Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse, meanwhile, seems ready to move on from the Harden drama.
"I got to get ready for Thursday, and I got to coach the guys we got," he told reporters.
"I really like where we are right now. I mean, there's so much I'm learning about this group. I think there's so much improvement we have to make in a lot of ways, and I'll let Daryl and [76ers general manager Elton Brand] and the boys worry about all that stuff, and I'll coach the guys here on a daily basis."
