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Franz Wagner continues to inch toward a return to the court with only seven games remaining in the regular season after Tuesday’s matchup between the Magic and Suns.
Wagner, who’s dealt with the extended rehab of a left high ankle sprain, has gone through physical sessions of 5-on-5 during on-court workouts, Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley said Tuesday morning inside the AdventHealth Training Center.
“Franz is progressing well,” Mosley said when the Orlando Sentinel asked how close the Magic forward is to returning. “We’ll see how he responds to that treatment today and go from there.”
Wagner originally suffered the injury Dec. 7 at New York and has since tried to return twice without success. He played two games against the Grizzlies in mid-January when Orlando traveled overseas to Berlin and London, and then saw limited minutes of action in a pair of games against the Bucks ahead of the NBA All-Star break in mid-February.
Including Tuesday, Wagner has missed 22 games in a row and 47 of the past 51 contests because of the injury.
After two failed attempts to bring Wagner back, the Magic are proceeding on the side of caution, even as he’s ramped up on the practice court. Orlando hosts Atlanta on the second night of a back-to-back Wednesday at Kia Center.
“We want to make sure that we’re covering every aspect that we can,” Mosley said.
Wagner isn’t the only member of the Magic who’s dealing with a prolonged injury. Anthony Black (left lateral abdominal strain) missed his 13th game in a row Tuesday while Jonathan Isaac (left knee sprain) his 10th straight.
While Isaac has dealt with his fair share of injuries throughout his time in Orlando, Black has not.
As a rookie, he was a healthy scratch 13 times and last season only missed four total games (three due to injury). Before a right quad bruise forced him to miss two games at the start of March this season, Black had appeared in the first 58 games of the year.
Then he suffered the abdominal strain early in a March 7 game at Minnesota.
“Well, it’s my first time I’ve really injured a muscle,” Black told the Sentinel in the locker room before the Magic played at Toronto on Sunday. “So, (I’m) just figuring out how to deal with the injury, giving it the appropriate rest. Just going through different things in the weight room, different rehab things trying to get it back to 100% was all new for me, and I’m glad I went through it and am going through it.”
Black, who was seen going through various on-court drills at Tuesday shootaround, didn’t share an exact timeline for his return when asked about it on the road.
“I’m feeling a lot better,” he said. “I think we’re just trying to see what I can do now, what my body feels comfortable and confident in doing.”
Isaac also continued to go through on-court drills Tuesday that included running back and forth and working on his hand-eye coordination while wearing a knee brace.
While the rest of the team would like to have all three of Wagner, Black and Isaac back as soon as they can return to help Orlando make a postseason push, the Magic are also aware they can’t bank on it happening.
“They’re doing all they can to get back,” Magic guard Jalen Suggs said. “We’re not rushing them because we want their bodies to be well throughout the rest of their lives. But in the same breath, we’ve got to do all we can with the unit that we have cause we have more than enough to go out and get it done and play the way that needs to be played to be competitive in these games and go win.
“While they’re doing their work, we’ve got to take of ours.”
Jason Beede can be reached at [email protected]
Magic vs. Hawks
When: 7 p.m., Wednesday, Kia Center
TV: FanDuel Sports Network Florida
Continue reading...
Wagner, who’s dealt with the extended rehab of a left high ankle sprain, has gone through physical sessions of 5-on-5 during on-court workouts, Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley said Tuesday morning inside the AdventHealth Training Center.
“Franz is progressing well,” Mosley said when the Orlando Sentinel asked how close the Magic forward is to returning. “We’ll see how he responds to that treatment today and go from there.”
Wagner originally suffered the injury Dec. 7 at New York and has since tried to return twice without success. He played two games against the Grizzlies in mid-January when Orlando traveled overseas to Berlin and London, and then saw limited minutes of action in a pair of games against the Bucks ahead of the NBA All-Star break in mid-February.
Including Tuesday, Wagner has missed 22 games in a row and 47 of the past 51 contests because of the injury.
After two failed attempts to bring Wagner back, the Magic are proceeding on the side of caution, even as he’s ramped up on the practice court. Orlando hosts Atlanta on the second night of a back-to-back Wednesday at Kia Center.
“We want to make sure that we’re covering every aspect that we can,” Mosley said.
Wagner isn’t the only member of the Magic who’s dealing with a prolonged injury. Anthony Black (left lateral abdominal strain) missed his 13th game in a row Tuesday while Jonathan Isaac (left knee sprain) his 10th straight.
While Isaac has dealt with his fair share of injuries throughout his time in Orlando, Black has not.
As a rookie, he was a healthy scratch 13 times and last season only missed four total games (three due to injury). Before a right quad bruise forced him to miss two games at the start of March this season, Black had appeared in the first 58 games of the year.
Then he suffered the abdominal strain early in a March 7 game at Minnesota.
“Well, it’s my first time I’ve really injured a muscle,” Black told the Sentinel in the locker room before the Magic played at Toronto on Sunday. “So, (I’m) just figuring out how to deal with the injury, giving it the appropriate rest. Just going through different things in the weight room, different rehab things trying to get it back to 100% was all new for me, and I’m glad I went through it and am going through it.”
Black, who was seen going through various on-court drills at Tuesday shootaround, didn’t share an exact timeline for his return when asked about it on the road.
“I’m feeling a lot better,” he said. “I think we’re just trying to see what I can do now, what my body feels comfortable and confident in doing.”
Isaac also continued to go through on-court drills Tuesday that included running back and forth and working on his hand-eye coordination while wearing a knee brace.
While the rest of the team would like to have all three of Wagner, Black and Isaac back as soon as they can return to help Orlando make a postseason push, the Magic are also aware they can’t bank on it happening.
“They’re doing all they can to get back,” Magic guard Jalen Suggs said. “We’re not rushing them because we want their bodies to be well throughout the rest of their lives. But in the same breath, we’ve got to do all we can with the unit that we have cause we have more than enough to go out and get it done and play the way that needs to be played to be competitive in these games and go win.
“While they’re doing their work, we’ve got to take of ours.”
Jason Beede can be reached at [email protected]
Up next …
Magic vs. Hawks
When: 7 p.m., Wednesday, Kia Center
TV: FanDuel Sports Network Florida
Continue reading...
