Jota - Welcome Home!

It was a cruel twist in Jota’s fairytale return to Celtic that just as he was approaching full fitness, he suffered a jar to his knee on the Tannadice turf, and with it a cruciate ligament injury that has ruled him out of action until November at the very least.

Having come back to the city, the club and the fans that he has come to love, the Portuguese winger subsequently had to go back to his homeland to slowly work his way to fitness once more.


He is keeping in touch with all things Celtic though, and in particular his teammates, with compatriot Paulo Bernardo revealing that his friend’s rehabilitation is on schedule.

“Yes, [I speak to him] sometimes,” Bernardo said.

“He's now in Portugal on rehab. I'll probably be with him after the game [on Saturday].


“I spoke to him [on Wednesday] and he seemed okay. He had his operation very well and now he's doing rehab. I think he's okay. I'll see him next week.

“He was determined to come back here in January very strong. He told me that he wasn't very fit at the time because of the game time he had before. But I think he shows everyone that he can come back and show his football again.


He scored goals, made assists and played important games. He had a great response to that. I think in his mind, he's very strong.

“He said to me that the surgery went well. He's obviously a great player. Fans love him.

“I never played a lot with him [when we were younger]. I had a pre-season with him in Benfica. Of course, he joined Benfica very young too. So, I always met him sometimes in the campus. Maybe some trainings.

“But he's really a great guy. I was already a friend of him in Benfica and his coming back here was good for me too.”

 

Luke McCowan admits he was a Jota fanboy when the Portuguese winger returned to Parkhead.


But now it’s the entire Celtic squad supporting the Portuguese ace on his long road back from a cruciate injury


Winger Jota faces being out until 2026, but McCowan said: “Regardless of how long it is, we’ll just keep making sure his mental state is always in the right place


He’s a good character, a very lively, influential person.


I think he thought I was a wee bit of a fanboy when I first came in, because I was kidding on to him that I was going to get a few ‘Jota 7’ tops off him!

“But no, he’s been perfect. I’m good friends with Paolo Bernardo from when I first came in and as soon as Jota came in, and Paolo was obviously close with Jota, we became friends right away.


That’s what this club creates, friendships through different countries, different cultures. It’s a special place.

 

His injury is a bitter blow and had a big effect end of season. He brings a spark not just with what he does on the pitch, with the fans. He just brings that buzz. We missed him being there the cup final on the pitch but think his return galvanised us as fans so much, and it kinda petered out his injury.

With the type of injury he has, 9 months seems more likely than the 6 months, and when he returns it’s a solid 6 months after that to get fully up to speed and recovered. Being fit enough to play is the start of proper recovery fully with that type of injury. If the rumours of ACL/MCL double tear anyway. We haven’t confirmed * all have we?

 

Still sticking with the hope he’s back quicker than expected. He was a huge miss in the run in.

 

It’s very important that we handle his recovery perfectly, and that means even if he wants to return ahead of schedule feels like he can, we don’t just go with that. He’s missed a lot of football already, if is out 9 months that is 3 years not really playing and a bad injury. If we handle it right and build up his body right, then we can reap the rewards of that for years to come. If we don’t, we absolutely ruin him. He won’t have that same movement twisting and turning and will be constant niggles to other areas of his body that will be labelled as not linked to the injury but they are when that happens.


Can’t stress how important it is we show patience with this one