Wendell Carter Jr. Suffers Sprained Left Ankle in Magic's Preseason Opener, Considered Day-to-Day

The Orlando Magic center went down in the third quarter of the team's preseason opener versus the New Orleans Pelicans and did not return. At Tuesday's practice, Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said the 25-year-old big is considered day-to-day.

Orlando Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. (34) shoots against New Orleans Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray (5) during the first half at Smoothie King Center. / Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

Orlando Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. left in the third quarter of the Magic's preseason-opening contest versus the New Orleans Pelicans with a sprained left ankle, team reporter Dan Savage said.

With around five and a half minutes to play in the third quarter, Carter Jr. went up to defend a jumpshot from Pelicans center Daniel Theis. On his way down, Carter Jr.'s left foot landed on top of Theis' foot, and he came up in pain. The 25-year-old center grabbed for his left foot, and a stoppage ensued. Carter Jr. did not return to the game.

Carter Jr. had four points, six rebounds and a steal in just under 20 minutes of action in the game. The Magic lost to the Pelicans 106-104.

"We're going to evaluate him and get some imaging, and see how he's doing. I think he's doing well," Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. "I looked up and I just heard him scream. I think it was just him turning his ankle, landed wrong.

The play Carter Jr. left the game on is below:

Wendell Carter Jr comes down on his ankle. Hopefully its nothing serious pic.twitter.com/WRzspeuEZ2

— The Magic Way (@MagicFilmRoom) October 7, 2024

Carter Jr. has an unfortunate injury history in his past. All offseason, Carter Jr. worked to improve both his physical and mental health, with the goal of being able to play all 82 regular season games for the Magic this season. For his career, he's played in just 67.7% of the available contests (appeared in 315 of 465 possible regular season games).

During training camp, Carter Jr. mentioned that his body felt as good as it could after offseason preventative surgery in his left hand. He had no injury concerns of note entering Monday's contest, and landing on Theis' foot for a shot contest is quite an unfortunate stroke of luck for the Magic big.

"It's tough," Mosley said. "At the end of the day, this is who he's been and what he's been able to do for us is huge. So we'll monitor it, we'll look at it, and once we travel to San Antonio... we'll see how everything is going."

"You hate to see anybody get hurt, especially a starter, a big part of the team," Banchero said.

"I told him, 'Sit out the rest of the preseason. We're going to need you Game 1.' So hopefully, it's not too bad and he can be ready by the start of the season.

*UPDATE – Tuesday, October 8*

The Orlando Sentinel's Jason Beede reported Tuesday that Carter Jr. is considered day-to-day after receiving confirmation of suffering a sprained left ankle. Carter Jr.'s return timetable will depend on how he responds to treatment, the report said.

Asked about it after the Magic's Tuesday afternoon practice in San Antonio, Mosley provided further context.

"I think he's going to continue to be day-to-day," the coach said. "We'll just keep monitoring him to see how he feels, but obviously, we're just gonna keep checking to make sure that he feels fully healthy before we get him back on the court."

Carter Jr. spoke about the incident as well, detailing what he felt and the next steps forward.

"Just went for the ball, landed right on his foot, turned [the ankle] pretty bad," Carter Jr. said. "I remember being in a lot of pain, a lot of frustration, too, just getting hurt in the first preseason game of the year. So it was a little frustrating, but I'm good. I got a good staff here, so I'm confident I'll be good.

"[The training staff is saying] that I should be good. The goal is, of course, to play in the next game. If not, you know, the game after that. Definitely want to get some more reps, get some more movement with the first unit guys before we get going. So definitely going to try and get back before the end of preseason."

The Magic play in San Antonio versus the Spurs at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday evening. Orlando opens the regular season at Miami on Oct. 23.

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