Franz Wagner is on the verge of returning to action for the Magic a third time this season.
Orlando upgraded him to questionable on the team’s initial injury report for tonight’s game against the Hawks at Kia Center.
Wagner last played Feb. 11 ahead of the NBA All-Star break and has missed the last 22 games and 47 of the past 51 due to an extended rehab of a left high ankle sprain.
In total, he’s missed 47 games because of the injury originally suffered Dec. 7 at New York.
But now he’s as close as he’s been to returning to the court with only seven games remaining in the regular season for the Magic, who took down the Suns on the first night of a back-to-back at home on Tuesday night.
On Tuesday, Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said Wagner had recently gone through physical sessions of 5-on-5 as he continued to progress and ramp up his on-court work. Wagner was seen participating in various drills both at shootaround Tuesday morning at the AdventHealth Training Center and pre-game at Kia Center that night.
Wagner first attempted to make his way back for a pair of games in Berlin and London when the Magic traveled overseas to face the Grizzlies. Upon returning, however, he dealt with lingering soreness from the high ankle sprain — the first one he’s dealt with in his career.
Then, he played limited minutes in two games against the Bucks prior to the league break. During the break, however, additional imaging revealed he needed extra time to properly recover, and that’s when the Magic ruled him out indefinitely on Feb. 18.
Orlando has gone 24-23 without Wagner, but the team is 16-12 with him.
He’s averaged 21.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.1 steals during 31.8 minutes per night across 28 games this season.
While Wagner was listed as questionable for the matchup against Atlanta, the Magic will still be without Anthony Black (left lateral abdominal strain) and Jonathan Isaac (left knee sprain).
Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com