Magic’s Franz Wagner Experiencing Significant Ankle Soreness

Magic forward Franz Wagner missed a chunk of time due to a left ankle sprain he suffered in early December. He’s played two games since returning to action but he may need another extended period of recovery.

Coach Jamahl Mosley said Wagner was “really, really, really sore” after Thursday shootaround, Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel tweets. Mosley confirmed the soreness is lingering from the high left ankle sprain that kept Wagner out 16 games. Wagner isn’t playing tonight against Charlotte.

“I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t hard as heck to deal with,” Mosley said. “But he came up really, really, really sore after shootaround. And we’ve got to obviously look at the long-term view for how we’re deal with our guys and he’s one of those guys that we have to continue to look at in that situation.”

Mosley later added: “I hope it’s not long term. … We want to monitor it to make sure it’s the right time for the long term for our entire group and this organization, as well as Franz.”

Wagner played 27 minutes in his return last Thursday and 26 more on Sunday, both against the Grizzlies. Wagner averaged 16 points and 6.5 rebounds in those games. Overall, he’s appeared in 26 games, averaging 22.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.1 steals.

The Magic have 10 more games after tonight prior to the All-Star break. It certainly sounds as if Wagner could be sidelined a few weeks if the soreness persists. Rookie Noah Penda was playing heavy minutes this month prior to Orlando’s trip to Europe and he could get the bulk of Wagner’s minutes once again.

Orlando’s approach to the trade deadline could be altered by Wagner’s lingering injury. The Magic entered Thursday’s action tied for the sixth spot in the East but just 3 1/2 games behind second-place Boston.

Another starter, Jalen Suggs, was ruled out of his eighth consecutive contest because of a right knee MCL bruise. However, Suggs appears close to returning, Beede reports.

“Jalen’s doing well,” Mosley said. “(He) came up OK after (Wednesday’s) work. He’s going to get some more work in (Thursday). We’ll see how he goes from there. Won’t be ready to go (Thursday) but try looking forward to the next couple games, maybe.”