Hedo Turkoglu Injury Update: Orlando Magic Hope Forward Returns Before NBA Playoffs

The Orlando Magic haven't had starting small forward Hedo Turkoglu available since he fractured his face in a collision with Carmelo Anthony on April 5th, but he's recovering well from surgery and could return to the floor in time for the end of the regular season, Otis Smith told John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com on Wednesday. "He can start doing some cardio things, so we'll start doing that soon," Smith, the team's President of Basketball Operations, said. The OrlandoMagic.com scribe says the team hopes to have Turkoglu back in time for next Wednesday's matchup against the Charlotte Bobcats.

With Turkoglu sidelined, Orlando has shifted Jason Richardson from shooting guard to small forward and moved J.J. Redick into Richardson's old spot at shooting guard. Not counting Wednesday's game against the Boston Celtics, Richardson had averaged 14 points, four rebounds, and 2.3 assists in Turkoglu's place, shooting 44.3 percent from the field and 48.5 percent from three-point range.

If Turkoglu indeed returns against Charlotte, he'd have two games to adjust to playing at NBA speed again before the postseason. The Magic's season concludes one night later with a road contest against the Memphis Grizzlies. The NBA has scheduled the first round of the 2012 playoffs to begin two nights after that, on Saturday, April 28th.

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