{"id":431543,"date":"2026-10-18T22:22:08","date_gmt":"2026-10-18T22:22:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/431543\/"},"modified":"2026-10-18T22:22:08","modified_gmt":"2026-10-18T22:22:08","slug":"orlando-magics-noah-penda-frustrated-by-timing-of-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/431543\/","title":{"rendered":"Orlando Magic’s Noah Penda frustrated by timing of injury"},"content":{"rendered":"

Noah Penda<\/a> suffered a partially torn right hamstring during Friday\u2019s preseason finale against the Heat, and the Magic<\/a> forward doesn\u2019t know when he\u2019ll return to the court.<\/p>\n

After dealing with a right hamstring strain in training camp, Penda said he felt his new injury in a different part of his hamstring. He said he immediately knew something was wrong when he headed to the locker room late in the first quarter of the exhibition at Kia Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could feel like it was located in a different area, like right away,\u201d Penda said after practice Sunday inside the AdventHealth Training Center. \u201cThe first time I was able to walk and this time I felt it right away. \u2026 It\u2019s just like really sore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Penda is not the only Magic player who\u2019s dealing with a new injury ahead of Wednesday\u2019s opening-night game versus the Atlanta Hawks.<\/p>\n

The Magic are continuing to assess Franz Wagner<\/a>\u2018s right shoulder, coach Sean Sweeney<\/a> said Sunday morning. Second-year guard Jase Richardson<\/a> is considered day-to-day with a sore lower back.<\/p>\n

Sweeney said Wagner, who exited Friday\u2019s contest because of soreness in the shoulder, was able to do some \u201clight work\u201d during Sunday\u2019s practice. Wagner wasn\u2019t on the court during the media-viewing portion of practice, but he was spotted from a distance walking in the team\u2019s weight room.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s still being evaluated,\u201d Sweeney said about Wagner, who will continue to get treatment. \u201cWe\u2019ll just keep working on what\u2019s next.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sweeney also said Anthony Black<\/a> (right ankle sprain) was able to participate in practice Sunday and that he looked good while moving well on the court.<\/p>\n

Black also went through some individual drills after practice. He will continue to ramp up after he missed all four of Orlando\u2019s preseason games because of the injury. He was hurt during voluntary workouts leading up to training camp.<\/p>\n

He and the Magic face a 6 p.m. deadline Monday regarding a potential rookie-scale contract extension. If the sides can\u2019t come to an agreement, Black would become a restricted free agent next summer.<\/p>\n

A restricted free agent can sign an offer sheet with any team, but the player\u2019s original team can retain him by matching the terms of that offer. Black also could become unrestricted if Orlando opts not to qualify him, which would then allow him to sign with any team.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Penda described the timing of his injury as frustrating. While his return will depend on how he responds to treatment, he\u2019s expected to miss a significant amount of time, the Orlando Sentinel learned.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have no idea, honestly,\u201d Penda said about a potential timeline. \u201cI leave that to the training staff. \u2026 You don\u2019t want this type of injury to be like recurring. Especially early in your career, I don\u2019t want to rush anything. I just have 100% confidence in the training staff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Penda also doesn\u2019t believe his latest hamstring injury was a result of his previous strain.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe images showed that the first injury was fully healed,\u201d he said. \u201cNow, it\u2019s just terrible luck, honestly. Even if it\u2019s on the same leg and it\u2019s still like in the hamstring area, this is a different injury. I\u2019m not a doctor but I don\u2019t think both are related.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sweeney shared his message for Penda.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just told him, \u2018Keep being yourself,’\u201d Sweeney said. \u201cThe way he works each day is admirable and that doesn\u2019t change. And regardless of what way or shape or form, you\u2019re part of the team and you\u2019ve got to contribute as best you can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Isaac update<\/p>\n

Magic forward Jonathan Isaac<\/a> also practiced Sunday, Sweeney said. Isaac continues to rehab a left knee sprain he suffered last season, but he believes he\u2019s not far from a return.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I\u2019m really getting closer,\u201d Isaac told the Sentinel in the locker room ahead of Friday\u2019s preseason finale. \u201cI\u2019m just going to stay focused the next week or two of really just focusing on my strength work and doing more on the court, more live stuff. So, I feel like I\u2019m right around the corner.\u201d<\/p>\n

Isaac, who signed a one-year deal to return to the Magic after the team initially waived him over the summer, previously missed 2\u00bd years from 2020-22 due to various knee injuries, including a torn left ACL.<\/p>\n

The Magic have been nothing but supportive of him throughout his injury-plagued career.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means everything,\u201d he said. \u201cI know it\u2019s a blessing to still be here, and I\u2019m just trying my best to be a leader vocally \u2013 and when I get a chance to be back on the court just bring energy and toughness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Minor roster moves<\/p>\n

The Magic over the weekend waived Malaki Branham, JD Davison and Kevin Knox II, the team said.<\/p>\n

All three joined Orlando for training camp on Exhibit 10 contracts and all three can earn bonuses up to $91,000 if they spend at least 60 consecutive days with Osceola, the club\u2019s G League affiliate.<\/p>\n

Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Noah Penda suffered a partially torn right hamstring during Friday\u2019s preseason finale against the Heat, and the Magic…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":431544,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[114,2295,139,141,1239,140,109,76046,110],"class_list":["post-431543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-latest-headlines","tag-nba","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-magic","tag-orlando-news","tag-social","tag-social-sports","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=431543"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431543\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/431544"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=431543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=431543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=431543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}