When the Magic announced last Tuesday that forward Jonathan Isaac would miss the remainder of the season as he continues to recover from a left ACL tear, both the team and Isaac himself said there had been no setbacks in his rehab process.
However, according to Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel, Isaac suffered a setback hours after that announcement, sustaining an injury to his right hamstring. Isaac subsequently underwent a minor surgical procedure, the team announced in a press release.
“Obviously, this was unexpected,” president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said in a statement. “No one will work harder than Jonathan in the goal to return for the start of next season.”
Neither Price’s report nor the team’s official announcement offers many details on the new injury. The statement from the Magic – who are always cagey about injuries and recovery timelines – doesn’t even explicitly confirm that the minor surgery addressed the hamstring issue, though that’s strongly implied.
According to Price, Isaac is still expected to be ready for the start of the 2022-23 season. But it’s another discouraging development for a player who will have been off the court for more than two full calendar years by the time he suits up again. The 24-year-old forward hasn’t played since he tore his ACL in August 2020,
It’s perhaps a silver lining that the setback didn’t affect Isaac’s left knee. A player recovering from a major leg injury sometimes overcompensates by leaning too heavily on another part of one leg or the other, which may be what happened with Isaac.
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