標籤: Franz

The Orlando Magic have slipped a bit on their recent seven-game win streak, losing two consecutive games to the Atlanta Hawks and Oklahoma City Thunder. The Magic have been playing shorthanded recently, with forward Franz Wagner missing a game since February 11 due to an ankle injury.

Recently, Wagner got 100% honest about the frustrations of the rehab process as he wants to get back into the lineup before the end of the season.

According to Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel, Wagner said, “Going into this, I expected to feel really good within 4–6 weeks of the injury.” “And obviously I didn’t feel that way. So, I think it’s always disappointing, not only for me (but) for everyone involved.”

Many Magic fans were also hoping that Wagner would be back by this time, but apparently, the recovery process has not proceeded as smoothly as expected.

The Magic have done a solid job of holding down the fort in Wagner’s absence, currently sitting in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, but they are in danger of slipping back into the play-in zone with a losing streak against the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday.

When healthy, Wagner is a versatile forward who can do it on both ends of the floor, and early this season he showed signs of an improved outside jumper, an area long viewed as his main weakness.

If he can get back on the field before the playoffs arrive, the Magic won’t be a team anyone is looking forward to facing off against.

Orlando’s game against the Hornets on Thursday at Charlotte is scheduled to begin at 7:00 PM ET.

The Orlando Magic have struggled to stay healthy throughout the 2025-26 NBA season, and their troubles have continued into the final month before the playoffs. While Paolo Banchero is healthy and leading the team to success, Anthony Black and Franz Wagner have both been sidelined with no clear timetable for their eventual returns.

Black, who suffered a lower back strain two minutes into Saturday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, missed the Magic’s next game on Sunday night against the Milwaukee Bucks because of this back strain. However, Orlando announced Tuesday morning that the breakout guard would be sidelined with a lateral abdominal muscle strain. An injury that was discovered after an MRI.

His comeback will depend on how he responds to treatment.

This isn’t the best news for the Magic, especially since Black has produced a stellar third season and taken over as one of the team’s key guards. Abdominal injuries usually cause players to miss at least a week of action, but can sometimes take longer depending on the severity of the injury.

Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander recently missed nine games with an abdominal strain.

In 60 games this season, of which he has started 40, Black has averaged 15.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game, while shooting 45.1 percent from the floor. He currently ranks fourth on the team in scoring this season and third in total points (917).

As far as Wagner is concerned, his left ankle sprain has been the downfall of his season. Wagner initially suffered an injury on December 7 against the New York Knicks and subsequently missed 16 consecutive games. Although he returned to play overseas in his hometown of Berlin on January 15 and again in London, England on January 18, Wagner then missed nine consecutive games.

He has been sidelined indefinitely since Feb. 11 after suffering a concussion and needs extra time after the All-Star break to fully recover. Following a recent re-evaluation of his ankle, the Magic have determined that Wagner is making progress, but still needs time to recover and reach his response to treatment.

Wagner has played only 28 games this year due to ankle trouble, averaging 21.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game.

No timetable has been given for Black or Wagner’s return to play, meaning both players are likely to be out for at least another week to see how they handle their respective injuries and if they can begin to make progress in on-court workouts.

Despite these two injury concerns as the Magic enter the final stretch of the regular season, the team has been having a lot of success recently due to Banchero’s leadership.

Orlando has won four games in a row and six of its last eight games overall. Banchero is averaging 27.8 points, 9.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game during the team’s four-game winning streak. This earned Banchero consideration for the Eastern Conference Player of the Week award.

The Magic, who are 35-28 this season, will look to continue to maintain positive momentum and possibly move into the East playoff picture against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.

As far as Black and Wagner are concerned, further updates on the injury status of both players will be provided by the team at a later date.

The Orlando Magic will return from All-Star weekend facing new adversity.

With a road matchup against the Sacramento Kings (12-44) scheduled for Thursday at 10:00 PM ET, Orlando (28-25) will move on without star forward Franz Wagner, who has been ruled out indefinitely as he recovers from left ankle sprain-related soreness.

Speaking at Thursday’s practice, Paolo Banchero stressed patience as Wagner works toward a full recovery.

“I mean he’s one of the key members of our team and you know we need him, but at the same time we don’t want him to come back before he’s ready and so it’s unfortunate,” Banchero said.

“You know, he came back in and out twice and then he had to be out again, so I want him to take his time – however long it takes – and get completely healthy because we don’t want him to go out there if he’s not feeling like himself. So, I think the biggest thing is to let him take his time to get healthy.”

Paolo Banchero, Jamahl Mosley highlight Franz Wagner’s value beyond the box score

The 24-year-old Wagner is in his fifth NBA season and remains a central figure in Orlando’s offense. In 28 games, he has averaged 21.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.1 steals per contest, while shooting 47.9% from the field and 36.5% from 3-point range in 31.8 minutes per game.

Head coach Jamahl Mosley underlined Wagner’s value beyond the box score, pointing to his work ethic and leadership within the locker room.

“I mean, there aren’t words that can explain what Franz means to this team, his toughness, his resiliency, his desire and desire to get back on the court,” Mosley said.

“Every guy on this team knows his work ethic and his care factor for this group. There aren’t many words that can describe it for this group, but also for him. I talked to him last night and talked about his ability and said he just wants to be on the field and that’s what’s been hardest, but also understanding how capable this group is of achieving the things that we say we want to do, even with him being out for this amount of time.”

Magic’s Moritz Wagner opens up about brother Franz’s emotional battle

Wagner’s absence also holds a personal dimension for teammate and brother Moritz Wagner.

“I mean, first of all, it sucks because he’s my brother and you have a pretty high-level relationship and he’s obviously not happy with it and he’s struggling emotionally and all that stuff,” Moritz said.

“You don’t like to see that happen for a family member. Obviously for us as players, big as well because he has such a big impact on the game but mainly I care more about the guy and I feel really bad for him.”

Moritz said recovery extends beyond physical rehabilitation.

“I think my biggest advice is and what I’ve learned is that it only works out well when you’re emotionally free, peaceful and relaxed,” she said.

“You can’t fight it every day, so having a time frame in which you’re doing your rehabilitation rather than a day-to-day structure is more peaceful for the mind and more efficient for the body to recover, and I think he’s been adapting to that over the last few days and we’ll see in three weeks. But it’s so nice to have that time to rest.” [the] Let the mind and body do their work and be ready when you are ready.

As Orlando begins the final stretch of the regular season, the organization has made clear that its priority is to ensure Wagner returns to full strength rather than sending him back before he is ready.

Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner will be sidelined indefinitely coming out of the NBA All-Star break after needing additional time and pain to recover from a left ankle sprain, as first reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania.

The team released a statement on Wednesday, saying Wagner was experiencing soreness in his left ankle and would need additional time to heal after the All-Star break. Wagner will be reevaluated in about three weeks.

The injury first occurred on December 7 against the New York Knicks, and Wagner missed 16 consecutive games. Although he returned to play in his hometown of Berlin on January 15 and again overseas in London, England on January 18, Wagner missed nine consecutive games to deal with his ankle injury.

In his lengthy absence, Anthony Black has emerged as a key weapon in Orlando alongside Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bain.

Wagner, who missed 25 of the Magic’s last 29 games due to an ankle injury, has played in only 28 games this season due to various injuries. This directly resulted in Orlando having a mediocre 28–25 record at the All-Star break.

Since the start of the 2024–25 season, Wagner and Banchero have played just 58 games together. When both players are on the court, the Magic are 29-29 overall.

Wagner isn’t the only player to miss significant time this season for the Magic, as Jalen Suggs has missed a total of 20 games so far on the season due to various injuries. Most recently, Suggs suffered a Grade 1 right MCL injury in the knee, and he missed eight consecutive games.

The good news for Orlando is that Suggs has played in each of the Magic’s last seven games before the All-Star break. Additionally, the Magic are still not fully developed this season and Wagner, Banchero, Suggs and Benn are on the court with each other for consecutive games.

In his 28 games this season, Wagner is averaging 21.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game while shooting 47.9 percent from the floor.