Magic guard Jalen Suggs ruled out indefinitely following surgery

The Orlando Magic are without a key piece with guard Jalen Suggs is expected to be out indefinitely due to arthroscopic surgery to remove a cartilage fragment in his left knee.

Suggs had been dealing with a trochlea injury in his left knee that kept him off the floor.  It’s been a rough stretch for Suggs as he has only played in one game since he exited the Jan. 3 game on the road against the Toronto Raptors because of back spasms.

The 23-year-old had been ramping up his recovery but began to experience discomfort and underwent more tests. In his fourth season, Suggs was putting together his most productive campaign, averaging a career-high 16.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 3.7 assists while shooting 41 percent from the floor in 35 games.

The Gonzaga product has been a key factor defensively, while his increased offensive production provided much-needed scoring.

His absence has contributed to the Magic’s struggle to make headway in the Eastern Conference. They are sitting in the eighth overall spot with a 29-33 record. Orlando has dropped six out of their last ten games, which puts them squarely in the play-in tournament scenario.

The Magic are 5.5 games behind the Detroit Pistons for the sixth overall spot, which could become too much of a hill to climb to avoid the play-in tournament.

Orlando is already dealing with the injury bug, as big man Moe Wagner is out for the rest of the season due to a torn ACL in his left knee.