The Orlando Magic have been dealt a significant injury blow as it was reported on Saturday by ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania that star forward Paolo Banchero has a low-grade right high ankle sprain.

According to Charania, the injury carries a recovery timetable of four to six weeks.

Banchero suffered the injury in Friday’s 115-93 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. He told Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel after the game that he was feeling discomfort in the first quarter, and by the second half, he needed to briefly make an exit to the locker room before attempting to come back into the game.

Subsequently, Banchero was sidelined for the remainder of the game.

Afterward, Magic coach Sean Sweeney described Banchero’s injury as a sore ankle and said that the team would be evaluating him. Now, the full picture has been painted, and it is detrimental to Orlando.

The Magic are currently 0-2, and despite a strong performance from Banchero in the season opener against the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday, in which he made NBA history by becoming the first player to have 35-plus points and 10-plus assists while shooting 80-plus percent from the floor in a season opener. However, his presence on the floor has not been enough to secure a win.

Now, they must adjust to life without him.

Banchero’s injury adds to a deflating trend of injuries to the team’s key players in recent seasons. During the 2024-25 season, both Banchero and co-star Franz Wagner missed significant time with oblique injuries. 

Last season, Wagner was limited to just 34 regular-season games due to a high ankle sprain he suffered in early December against the New York Knicks and other lower-extremity issues. Jalen Suggs, another core, homegrown contributor for Orlando, has only played more than 65 games one time.

Banchero will join Anthony Black (ankle sprain) and Noah Penda (Partially torn hamstring) among those who are dealing with injuries.

The only luck the Magic have had with health is regarding the availability of Desmond Bane, who played all 82 regular-season contests last season and all of the team’s postseason games.

Through the season’s first two games, Banchero has averaged 24.5 points, 7.5 assists and 6.5 rebounds while shooting 69.6% from the field and 50% from 3-point range. Orlando’s upcoming schedule will include three road trips against two formidable opponents, the Knicks and the Toronto Raptors.

The Magic will face the Knicks, who are also 0-2 to begin their title-defending season, on Sunday before travelling to Toronto to take on the Raptors on Wednesday before facing them again on Friday to kick off their Emirates NBA Cup slate.