Magic’s playoff hopes take hit with Wagner’s injury update

The Orlando Magic have officially ruled out forward Franz Wagner for Wednesday night’s Game 5 against the Detroit Pistons due to a right calf strain.

The Magic forward suffered the injury during game 4 on Monday night.

Wagner, in the four games so far, is averaging 16.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.8 steals.

“I don’t think we’re expecting Franz to play,” Paolo Banchero told Channel 9 after shootaround in Detroit Wednesday morning. “A calf strain, you don’t want to mess around with that. So I don’t think that’d be very smart. But we’ve just got to come out (and have a mentality of) next man up. You know, we’ve had some guys come off the bench, play well, and defend at a high level. So those guys have just got to step up and be ready to go. Obviously, we want Franz to be healthy. That’s the most important thing. But I’m confident that we’ve got guys that can step up.”

Wagner’s health has been a major storyline this season as he’s missed 48 games after suffering a left high ankle sprain against the Knicks back in December of last year.

The Magic look to close out the series tonight and advance in the NBA playoffs for the first time since 2010.

Channel 9’s Sports Director Alex Walker will be live from Detroit with a recap of tonight’s game.

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