Orlando's Franz Wagner out at least another three weeks recovering from high left ankle sprain

Franz Wagner tried to come back for a couple of games before the All-Star break, having missed 25 games this season due to a high ankle sprain.

He's going to miss more time. He was still suffering from ankle soreness, and imaging done over the All-Star break confirmed that Wagner needs more time to recover. He will be out indefinitely and re-evaluated in three weeks, the team announced on Wednesday.

This news crushes the hope that Orlando could start to get healthy and find some consistency after the All-Star break. Orlando has been one of the league's most disappointing teams this season. Projected as a potential contender before the season, the Magic are 28-25 and would be in the play-in if the season ended today. Their defense was elite a season ago but has been middle-of-the-pack this season. Injuries are part of that: Orlando's home-grown trio of Wagner, Paolo Banchero and Jalen Suggs have played together in just 19 of the Magic's 135 regular-season games in the past two years.

Wagner has looked like an All-Star when he has gotten on the court this season, averaging 21.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists a game in the 28 games he has played. The 24-year-old German is in the first year of a five-year, $224 million max contract extension with the team.