Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley ruled out rookie Jalen Suggs from playing on Saturday versus the Sacramento Kings due to a right ankle bone bruise.
Suggs suffered the injury on March 13 versus the Philadelphia 76ers and has missed the past five games for the Magic. He was hobbled throughout that contest and was eventually ruled out of returning to play after logging 22 minutes.
The fifth pick previously battled through a sprained right ankle for much of early March after initially injuring it on March 4 against the Toronto Raptors. He missed two games but was cleared and played in the next three games before bruising it versus the Sixers.
Suggs still hasn’t returned to practice, Mosley said on Friday.
Jalen will not be available tomorrow as of right now. He didn’t go through practice. He just did some running to try to see how the ankle keeps responding.
The fifth pick previously told Mosley that he wants to travel and be around the team as much as possible over the eight games of the season while recovering from the injury. He could play again this season, but the Magic will not rush him back.
The Magic have often been cautious with injuries and will not rush Suggs back into action too quickly. He has been sidelined over 20 games this season due to various injuries so the team will work to ensure he is fully healthy before clearing him to play again.
Suggs, in 46 games, is averaging 12.1 points, 4.4 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.2 steals this season. He ranks eighth in scoring among all first-year players and third in assists.
This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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