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The latest on the Magic’s Jalen Suggs and Moe Wagner injuries

Posted on by Gerres
The latest on the Magic’s Jalen Suggs and Moe Wagner injuries

ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando Magic goaltender Jalen Suggs has been confirmed to have a lower back strain after further testing, a league source told Magic on SI.

There is no current timeline for recovery, which will depend on the patient’s response to treatment. Suggs left the Magic’s Jan. 3 game in Toronto in a wheelchair in the second quarter.

At Wednesday’s practice, Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said Suggs “feels good. We will continue to evaluate him and see how he responds to the various treatments we offer him.”

Regarding what he was able to do Wednesday, Mosley said: “He’s just moving around a little bit, just going through the healing process.”

He appeared in 34 games this season, averaging a career-high 16.4 points and 4.1 rebounds per game in 29.0 minutes. As a primary defender, Magic is averaging 3.7 assists, the second-best mark of his four-year NBA career.

A back strain resulted in two consecutive absences, and he will miss Thursday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves with the same ailment. His two other absences this season are due to a strained hamstring and a sprained ankle earlier in the season, with just one missed game in each.

“The images came back with what we thought was back tightness,” Mosley said Thursday. “So just continue to monitor him as the situation develops and see how he responds to what we’re doing.”

Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs (4) is on the court after being injured in the game against Toronto Raptors

Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs (4) lies on the court after being injured in the second quarter of the game against the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena. / Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

That wasn’t the only health update that came out Thursday morning.

Moe Wagner underwent successful surgery to repair a torn left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) on Wednesday, Jan. 8, according to a league source. As previously reported, he will be sidelined until the end of the 2024-25 regular season

Wagner, 27, suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in the first quarter of the Magic’s victory over the Miami Heat on December 21.

The 6-10 German appeared in all 30 games for Orlando, averaging 12.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists in approximately 19 minutes per game. He shot 56.2% from the field. At the time of his injury, he had become one of the NBA’s top reserve scorers, ranking second in total points scored off the bench and 15th in field goal percentage.

He appeared in all 30 games for the Magic – leading the team in scoring once and scoring four times. His career-best score of 32 points was the best of 23 double-digit scores this year.

Teammate Goga Bitadze said the team caught up with Wagner via FaceTime before practice, during which the injured center said: “he could still give (Magic) buckets.“

“After the surgery, he had the nerve to say, ‘You know what, I’m still going to give you buckets,’” Mosley said Thursday, recalling the interaction. “But it’s him, you know what I mean? That’s what these guys think of him, that’s how he feels. It’s just a group that these guys have created among themselves.”

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