Franz Wagner knew immediately that something had happened when he injured his shoulder in Friday's preseason finale against the Miami Heat.
Wagner said he went to swipe down at the ball in the third quarter. As he did, the Heat player went up to shoot and seemed to jam his shoulder. Wagner said the pain was immediate. He knew he needed to remove himself from the game.
That Wagner stayed on the floor for a few more possessions, even shooting a three, and was noticeably holding his shoulder, made every Orlando Magic fan's heart skip a beat.
The story for the team has always been the injuries. Wagner played in only 34 games last year, missing 47 of 51 games in one stretch with a high ankle sprain. The thought of him missing the opener felt like both deja vu and a complete disaster.
Rest easy, then.
Wagner said he was feeling much better during Tuesday's practice. And while coach Sean Sweeney remained coy about things, Wagner said he will indeed play. The team confirmed that a few hours later.
Wagner was left off the Magic's initial injury report and will be available to play for Wednesday's opener.
That is a sigh of relief. The Magic's whole goeal this season was to see their team fully healthy and together, something they did not see for much of last season.
But this is not a full team yet.
Lingering camp injuries
The Orlando Magic are still dealing with a few injuries heading into the season. Although the Magic are seemingly optimistic their absences will not be long.
Anthony Black and Jonathan Isaac, who both missed the entire preseason, were ruled OUT for Wednesday's game. But both appear close to returning.
Black sprained his right ankle during voluntary workouts before training camp began. He has been slowly ramping up and is nearing a return, practicing in full on Tuesday.
"Definitely feeling better," Black said after practice Tuesday. "It was a little bit of a weird injury. Just trying to take it day by day and make sure when I do get back, I'm not risking the rest of my body."
That is the general tone of the Magic and their approach to injuries during this camp. They wanted to make sure players were available for the long term.
Sweeney said the Magic want to ensure player health first, then build conditioning and then let them loose to play. Black and Isaac are still working through that process.
"We're still ramping up," Sweeney added on Black's recovery Tuesday. "We're going to wait and see on that. He was practicing today and a full participant. He did a good job. Would like to see him out there, he felt good, keep building."
Isaac has remained out while he is still dealing with lingering issues from his knee injury last year. Like Black, he is ramping up to play and participating fully in practice.
Jase Richardson also left Friday's game early with lower back soreness. He was not listed on the Magic's injury report and is available to play.
"Jase is doing pretty good," Sweeney said after practice Tuesday. "He did a good job in practie today and made some shots and is moving pretty good. Excited to see him out there. Everybody is doing good in practice, keep building toward the regular season and keep ramping up."
It is not all good news, of course.
Noah Penda suffered a partially torn right hamstring in the game on Friday. That will leave him out for some time.
Injuries remain a frustration
Injuries are frustrating at any moment in the season. Injuries at the start of the season are especially frustrating because of how eager everyone is to start the year. Noah Penda was certainly frustrated to have an injury so early in the year.
Anthony Black too was frustrated. But he is confident he will be ready when he returns.
"It's frustrating, but still been in the gym, still been watching," Black said after practice Tuesday. "I'm confident I will be ready to play when I come back and do what I need to do."
The Magic are still dealing with a bit of the injury bug. They are not fully whole.
But they will have their starting lineup together for opening night. And they will be closer to being whole sooner rather than later.
From there, the Magic will hope that they can keep that health and can see this team at full force. That is the only way they can reach their full potential.
Everything tips off Wednesday against the Atlanta Hawks.
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