ORLANDO, Fla. – Paolo Banchero is moving closer to a return, with the Orlando Magic forward hoping he can play again in the coming weeks.
The Magic said Friday that Banchero — an All-Star last season — has entered the “return to league reconditioning” phase of his recovery from a torn oblique, a phase that has now sidelined him for 28 of Orlando’s 33 games this season has put.
Banchero said the torn muscle has healed.
“I just did a lot of rehab and a lot of ramping up, trying to get my body back in shape,” Banchero said Friday before the Magic vs. New York game. “Obviously I had to sit for over 30 days without really doing much. So I just had to get my body back into that mode and I’m still working on that.”
There’s no definitive timetable for Banchero’s return, but barring a setback, it’s clearly getting closer. He hasn’t played since being injured on October 30 in Chicago and was off to a monster start: his 29 points per game were seventh in the league when he was injured, and he was also averaging 8.8 rebounds and 5 .6 assists.
“It’s really encouraging to see how he’s working,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said.
The Magic lost four games in a row after Banchero was injured, then went on a tear with Franz Wagner leading the way – before suffering the same injury as Banchero. Wagner was injured earlier this month, derailing what likely would have been an All-Star-worthy start to his season.
“I had a bad feeling sitting on the bench during that game,” Banchero said. “When I saw him holding his side, it was eerily similar to how I felt in Chicago.”
There are things Banchero hasn’t done yet in his rehab: he hasn’t dunked, he hasn’t played 5-on-5 competitively, he hasn’t had a full workout yet. But he said he has his legs under him and is playing through fatigue, a big step toward securing everything.
“If you watch that long, you just miss the game,” Banchero said. “So I’m happy to be able to play again.”