Franz Wagner enters return to competition conditioning

Franz Wagner has not had many major injuries in his basketball career. He is pretty well known for how durable he is, shaking off seemingly bad ankle sprains and other injuries and playing through everything on a constantly injured team.

Wagner tearing his oblique—a seemingly hidden injury that does not even really hurt without any twisting—was an odd thing to knock Wagner out of the lineup, the biggest long-term injury he estimated he has had since he was 13 or 14 years old and just starting in basketball.

To be back on the court and even doing some basic shooting drills in a light practice for the first time was some relief. The wait for him is almost over.

The Orlando Magic intend to list Wagner as "OUT - Return to Competition Conditioning" on their injury report ahead of Wednesday's game against the Milwaukee Bucks. Wagner's return to practice starts the final steps in his return from his torn right oblique.

The countdown to his return is on, much like it was for Paolo Banchero two weeks ago.

"I feel good," Wagner said after practice Tuesday. "I think everything is going in a really good direction. I was able to do some more stuff on the court. I think pretty much the muscle is not the issue at this point. It's about getting back in shape and making sure I check all the boxes before I get back into a game."

Patience still required

This is a first step in his return. Like Paolo Banchero, who returned from his own torn right oblique on Friday, the muscle is now healed and Franz Wagner can start to "turn up the volume" a bit on his workouts.

The waiting for the muscle to heal is the boring and sometimes frustrating part of this injury. You cannot really do much in those early weeks because the oblique is so vital to other muscle groups.

That is the part Wagner is now well past as he starts doing more strenuous on-court workouts.

The countdown to his return is now merely weeks rather than an indefinite period. Now it is just te waiting for the final clearance and going through those steps.

It should not be long.

But as has been the case throughout the entire injury process, there is still some patience everyone needs before Wagner can get back on the court. He still has to go through contact and play one-on-one up to full-court before he is cleared for games. That remains a process.

What is not clear is how quickly he can progress through the reconditioning steps. But those are all boxes he has to tick.

Wagner said the people around him have done a good job making sure he slows down and gives himself the chance to recover.

"I think both of them have really communicated with each other in a way what's expected," coach Jamahl Mosley said after practice Tuesday. "I do see that in Franz not trying to rush it back, giving himself the grace to understand he's not going to walk back in the building and be perfect, but understanding what he needs to do to be on the floor for a consistent level not just in one game, out one game. Just being able to be fully healthy to get back on the floor."

It is hard not to make some comparison to Banchero's recovery.

Banchero was officially changed from "torn right oblique" to "return to competition conditioning" on the injury report on Dec. 26. He returned to the lineup on Jan. 10, a time of about two weeks. There is no telling if Wagner will follow the same timetable to return, but that gives a ballpark for when he might be back in the lineup.

For some further comparison, Banchero hit the return to competition conditioning stage after eight weeks injured. Wagner will hit it after a little more than five weeks. That probably speaks to the severity of their tears.

Now that the muscle is healed and the sitting around that comes with this particular injury is over, Wagner can start to move around and attack his conditioning more.

Returning a star

Franz Wagner was having a breakout season before his injury. He averaged a career-high 24.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game. He was shooting 46.5 percent from the floor on higher usage with Banchero out for all but five games before his injury.

Wagner seemed to be breaking out and likely would have been named to his first All-Star Game if not for his injury. With just 25 games played this season, it is hard to see him making an All-Star Game despite his and the team's success.

The injury forced him to slow down. Like with Banchero, the Magic put together a plan to keep him engaged, having him speak with and break down film with coaches. Wagner has still traveled with the team and talked to players on the bench.

It gave him some new perspective on the game. Just as his team took advantage of the opportunity playing without him.

"I think obviously there is a lot of things happening within a game," Wagner said after practice Tuesday. "I think I got to know my teammates a little better. When I'm in the game, I'm in my own emotions a little bit. Just seeing how they are wired a little bit helped me. Just seeing how the team is playing and how we're reacting to certain situations where we can get better at obviously also thinking how I can help with that."

The team has been able to hold things steady in his stead. Since Wagner's injury, the Magic have gone 7-9 and maintained their place in the Eastern Conference standings. Banchero's return has helped boost the team.

But as much as the Magic find his presence valuable on the bench. They want to see him back on the court. And Wagner returning to practice even in a limited capacity on Tuesday is a major step for him and the team.

Just as Banchero's return seemed to provide a breath of fresh air for this team, Wagner's return too will open things up more.

The Magic have yet to see this team at full strength. It is a credit to the entire roster that they have held this ship steady.

"I think we've got to give everybody a lot of credit," Wagner said after practice on Tuesday. "We could have easily given up and thrown the towel after a bunch of guys went out. I thought we did a good job even when stuff wasn't going perfect of playing super hard and just trying to get better each and every possession. I think you are going to see that's going to pay off later when it really matters."

The Orlando Magic reached the midpoint of the season with Sunday's win over the Philadelphia 76ers. There are still a lot of games ahead of them. This team already has its eyes on the playoffs.

They know they accomplished a lot in the first half of the season despite all the injuries they faced. They know they cannot accomplish everything without their two stars and the space and comfort they provide.

Wagner's return is now seemingly weeks away and the opportunity to see this team at full strength is coming true soon.

Wagner's wait is now almost over.