DETROIT — Franz Wagner was ruled out of Wednesday’s Game 5 against the Pistons and his status moving forward throughout the NBA playoffs is also in question.
Wagner was wearing a boot on his right foot as he sat in the locker room inside Little Caesars Arena and spoke for the first time since an MRI on Tuesday confirmed he suffered a right calf strain during Monday’s Game 4 versus Detroit.
“Pretty frustrating,” Wagner said about the 48 hours leading into Wednesday. “It always sucks to miss games, especially in the playoffs. So, I’m pretty frustrated with it.”
Wagner is especially frustrated because he already missed so much time this season due to injury. Needing multiple attempts to return from a past left high ankle sprain, he sat out a combined 48 games before eventually returning ahead of postseason.
And now he’s unsure how much more time he could miss because of the right calf strain.
“I really don’t know, honestly,” he said when asked about a potential timeline.
Wagner, who averaged 16.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.7 steals during 30.4 minutes per night in the first four playoff games against the Pistons, also wasn’t aware of the exact severity of the strain.
“It’s obviously bad enough for (me) to not play tonight,” he said about the injury. “Just kind of gotta see how I feel and, at the same, really gotta be cautious with the calf.”
The reason Wagner and the Magic have to be cautious with the injury is because there have been several instances in the past where players around the league have played on a calf strain and subsequently tore their Achilles tendon.
Recent examples include Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton, who both tore their Achilles during last year’s playoffs after dealing with calf strains.
“As I said, I hate to miss any game, especially in this situation,” Wagner said. “But I think there are things that are really important and obviously we know the history of other guys that have gotten hurt so you’ve got to be careful with this kind of injury.”
Magic forward Jamal Cain, who filled in for Wagner during the fourth quarter of Game 4, earned the start Wednesday night in his place and opened alongside regulars Jalen Suggs, Desmond Bane, Paolo Banchero and Wendell Carter Jr. at Detroit.
Wagner expressed confidence in his teammates to get the job done against the Pistons with Orlando up 3-1 in the best-of-seven first-round series.
“We’ve got a great game plan,” Wagner said. “We’ve got more than enough talent in the locker room. … We know it’s going to take one more game of really good team basketball.”
Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com