Magic’s Jalen Suggs to have knee surgery; out indefinitely

Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs will undergo surgery to remove a cartilage fragment in his left knee and is out indefinitely, the team announced Sunday afternoon

Suggs’ return will be based on rehab and he is expected to make a full recovery.

The Magic on Friday announced Suggs would be out indefinitely with a trochlea injury in the knee before discovering the cartilage fragment in the joint.

Suggs left a Jan. 3 game with back spasms and since then has made only one appearance, a Jan. 25 win over the Detroit Pistons. It was during his ramp-up to return to play that he experienced discomfort in his knee and had further testing.

Known for his defense, Suggs is averaging career highs of 16.2 points and 4.0 rebounds per game in his fourth season.

After finishing fifth in the Eastern Conference standings last year and making the playoffs for the first time since the 2019-20 season, the Magic have taken a step back. The team enters play Sunday with a 29-32 record and sits in eighth place.

Orlando’s struggles can largely be attributed to injuries knocking out the team’s top players. Both Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner missed multiple weeks with torn oblique injuries. Suggs, Banchero and Wagner have played just six games together this season and 97 total minutes.

The Magic have lost three of their past four games and have three games remaining on a seven-game homestand that continues Sunday against the Toronto Raptors.

ESPN’s Shams Charania contributed to this report.

Source: espn.com