Magic's Paolo Banchero Teases Impending Return from Injury on Social Media

Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero has missed 33 games with a torn right oblique, and has missed the last several games due to reconditioning. But the All-Star third-year pro made waves with his latest Instagram post Tuesday, hinting at his near return.

Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) arrives at the Scotiabank Arena before a game against the Toronto Raptors. / Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

ORLANDO, Fla. – It's been over two months since Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero has taken the court with his teammates in a game.

Since tearing his right oblique on Oct. 30 at Chicago, the third-year pro has been relegated to watching from the sidelines. In his absence, the Magic have become one of the best stories in the NBA – maintaining a competitive record and standing through his and multiple other players' absences because of injury.

Orlando is currently without its top four scorers, as Banchero leads the bunch of him, Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs and Moe Wagner on the Magic's growing injury list. But a recent post from Banchero on Instagram teases that his much-anticipated return is nearly here.

Posting a slideshow of the many outfits he's donned, Banchero wrote in his caption: "A look at how my season [has] been going. The wait is almost over."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Paolo Banchero (@paolo5)

The very last slide of the post sees Banchero on the court at shootaround during the Magic's recent trip to Detroit. Especially on the road, when court time is limited, his involvement suggests what his caption does – it shouldn't be much longer before he's able to be back in the fold.

Monday night, the Magic's FanDuel Sports Network broadcast showed both him and Franz Wagner, who's missed a month himself with his own torn right oblique, going through work prior to the Magic's win over New York.

When asked before his team's Sunday night home matchup with the Utah Jazz, Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said Banchero was continuing to build his cardio and conditioning up.

"I think those are big pieces for him," Mosley said. "Being able to be on the floor, do some contact things. But just slowly but surely, he's working his way up. Then it's always, like we continue to say, how do they respond to the things that we've done the previous day."

A follow-up then asked if any benchmarks were left for him to accomplish, and Mosley again pointed back to the conditioning and contact: "I think those are going to be very important before he finds his way to the floor."

Following Sunday evening's game, Wagner told local reporters in the Magic locker room that he was "staying patient even though [he] felt really good." It's been about four and a half weeks since Wagner was diagnosed with the same injury as Banchero, and he recently surpassed the four-week evaluation period the team originally gave when releasing the news.

"It's just, mentally, a little weird that nothing really hurts, but obviously, you know you can't really go yet," Wagner said.

Through five games, Banchero was averaging 29 points, nearly nine rebounds over five and a half assists. He notched the NBA's first 50-point game this year and recently checked in at fourth in the first fan vote returns East All-Star frontcourt players.

As of Tuesday, the Magic are 22-16 and sit fourth in the East with at least two games of cushion separating them from the third or fifth seeds.

Getting Banchero back is an obvious boost to Orlando's outlook. If Banchero's own words are to be taken for what they're worth, then the Magic may not have to wait much longer.

Orlando hosts Minnesota on Thursday, Jan. 9, then Milwaukee on Friday, Jan. 10. Their three-game homestand closes out Sunday, Jan. 12 versus Philadelphia.

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