Injuries have been the defining factor of the Orlando Magic’s 2024-25 season. Several players have missed time with injuries already, most notably Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, and Mo Wagner. While Banchero is currently ramping up for his return and Franz Wagner will likely be back on the court sometime in February, the elder Wagner brother is out for the season with an ACL tear.
That is a lot of production sitting on the sidelines for the Magic, and it has not been easy for the team to grind out wins. Everyone has to pay at their best and chip in for the Magic to take care of business while their two stars are recovering from their injuries.
Thus, it was concerning to see Jalen Suggs go down with a back injury against the Toronto Raptors and leave the game after only 13 minutes. Without Wagner and Banchero, Suggs has been one of the focal points of the Magic’s offense. Losing him to a long-term injury would be catastrophic for a Magic team that still wants to make the playoffs.
Magic get positive first update on Suggs’ injury
For now, it seems that Suggs’ injury is considered a back spasm and nothing too serious. That is what Jamahl Mosley said after the game, and so did Brian Sutterer MD, who broke down the injury in a video.
“His torso is twisted in a way that is going to put some tension on this left side of his back and put some compression on the right side of his back, and as he’s moving and twisting, there’s just a lot of rotational force to be going through your spin…so I think it is just this unusual rotation in position,” Sutterer said when analyzing Suggs’ injury.
He later added, “This doesn’t look to be anything traumatic.”
It seems that the best case, and most likely, scenario is that the injury is a muscle spasm that should not cause a long-term absence. It could also be an irritation of the facet joints, though. Either way, Sutterer explained, it should not cause Suggs to miss a lot of time unless the nerves or discs in his spine are injured.
While we will have to wait for an official update after Suggs has gone through an MRI, this is an encouraging first interpretation of the injury. The Magic can likely survive missing Suggs for a game or two, but another long-term injury to a key player would derail the team even further, even if Paolo Banchero is ready to get back on the court soon. He is already seemingly in the final stages of his recovery, but relying on Banchero to carry the team all by himself right after returning from a tricky injury is risky.