Magic forward Franz Wagner has been diagnosed with a torn right oblique and will be sidelined indefinitely, according to Shams Charania of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that Wagner will be reevaluated in four weeks.
The Magic have confirmed the news (Twitter link). The injury occurred during Friday’s game in Philadelphia.
It’s a brutal blow for an Orlando team that has already been without one star forward, Paolo Banchero, for more than a month. Not only will Wagner join his fellow forward on the injured list, but he has sustained essentially the same injury — Banchero has been out since October 30 due to a torn right oblique of his own.
Wagner served as the second option on offense behind Banchero for the past couple seasons, but the Magic gave him a five-year, maximum-salary extension in July, signaling that they believed in his ability to continue developing into a star. That star turn was taking place this fall as he took the reins with Banchero sidelined.
In 20 games without Banchero available so far this season, Wagner averaged 26.1 points, 6.3 assists, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.8 steals in 35.0 minutes per contest.
More to come…