Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley on Wednesday said rookie Jalen Suggs is progressing from a fractured right thumb suffered on Nov. 29 versus the Philadelphia 76ers.
Suggs appeared to suffer the injury after he was inadvertently slapped by 76ers center Joel Embiid on the hand. He immediately grabbed his hand after the play and checked out with 4:20 left in the game. He would not return to the contest.
The Magic initially announced that Suggs would be reevaluated every two weeks following the injury. He was examined on Tuesday and is progressing in his rehab.
“His evaluation, obviously, is progressing,” Mosley said. “We’ll just keep evaluating as he goes through the process of the rehabilitation with it.”
The injury to Suggs came just as the fifth pick started to gain his footing in the NBA and turn the corner. He felt as though the game had started to slow as he showed great control and poise running the team on a nightly basis in the games leading up to the injury.
Without Suggs, the Magic have turned to Gary Harris in the starting lineup. The team will certainly not rush Suggs back into action too quickly and risk further damage to his thumb so it is possible that he will be out for the foreseeable future.
Suggs is averaging 12.3 points, 3.6 assists and 3.4 rebounds in 21 games. He currently ranks seventh in scoring and third in assists among all first-year players.
This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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