Jota: I met demons on journey back to Celtic and we had good talks

On a day of many positives for Celtic during the 7-1 thrashing of Hearts, the appearance of Jota at Parkhead for the first time in 18 months got one of the loudest cheers.

Jota’s last home match for Celtic was on April 12, 2025, when he came on as a 60th-minute substitute in a 5-1 win over Kilmarnock. Two weeks later, he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament at Tannadice against Dundee United.

It has been a long road back to fitness for 27-year-old Portuguese forward. He played for the first time this season against Motherwell on October 11, getting 16 minutes under his belt. He was given the whole of the second half against Hearts - less of a risk given Celtic were 5-1 up.

Jota came on as a half-time substitute for Celtic against Hearts. | SNS Group

“I was really happy,” Jota said of his Celtic Park return. “It was a moment I was expecting for months and I think no better day to do it with a good result, a good performance and just in front of our fans. So it's a happy day.”

There have not always been smiles for Jota over the past year-and-a-half. His recovery from the knee injury has taken a long time. “It's like a rollercoaster of emotions,” he explained. “We could stay here for like two weeks for me to speak about everything that was going on in my head.

“Like, what can I say? I mean in the end, it's part of everyone's life, you know? Everyone struggles. The thing is that in our job, I just cannot be out there. But certainly other people, and I always try to see from this perspective, like they have worse problems. I always think there's someone in a worse position than you.

“So I'm just grateful to - and I think I'm privileged to - be in such a wonderful sport and to have all of these experiences. Today it shows that it matters, like all of the struggle. It matters because these moments are unique.”

Was there ever a point where Jota thought he wouldn’t come back? “Oh, come on,” he smiled. “No, obviously this is my dream. It's my passion. I was always being fuelled by this. So there's moments where you reflect, there's moments where you feel like you're down and you cannot see any light, but that doesn't mean that you stop believing.

“You just need to find another way. And that's what I was trying to do all the time. And every case is different. My situation is not the same situation as another player. But in the end, my aim was always like I want to come back fit. Whatever time I need to take, because I still have a long career in front of me and I'm still young.

“So there's no rush, let's do everything correctly and just trust the process.”

Jota used his love of the game to drive him towards being back on the pitch. “I think that's my compass,” he said. “I could clearly see that during the months I was away. And my love for football is immense. I could prove that because maybe someone else wouldn't want to come back because of the struggle or like some guys just don't have that on themselves.

“I think that was my fuel to keep on working every day, to be healthy and fit, even if things weren't going that way. But there's a solution for everything. You just need to accept the present and keep on believing that good things will come.”

Family helped Jota through it all

Jota spent much of his recovery in Portugal. He needed to be close to his loved ones as he embarked on the long road back. As he was rehabilitating, Celtic were desperately trying to cling on to their trophies. Managers were coming and going. Disharmony emanated from the stands. Jota took sanctuary at home.

“I think family is the foundation of everything,” continued Jota. “And having them day by day next to me and knowing that no matter what, they will always be there - like when I go home - I think it's the best feeling someone can have.

“I had mine every day waiting for me to come home. And once I know they're safe, I know that, OK, this is already a very good thing because in the end, everyone wants to have a healthy family and someone that you can build a life on.

“I'm no different from anyone, even though I'm a footballer obviously, but that was always my preoccupation. Like, ‘Okay, I'm not in the best position at the moment because I'm injured, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop living my life.’ There's more things in life from football. And I had to rewire again to get that.”

Jota has always been a colourful talker and he is candid about some of his struggles and his perspective on life. “I think I've met some demons and I've had some good talks with them,” he revealed. “I think we developed a good relationship afterwards and we are all on the same table nowadays and we can laugh about everything that happened.

“We could spend like two weeks in here speaking about what's a setback or what's not a setback. It's not a clear trajectory. It's not a perfect line. Like it's not every day we'll get better. Maybe you get better, then you go down, but then you go up again and you're already better than what you were before. Do you know what I'm saying?

“So it's just like a mountain where you keep on building and then eventually you reach the peak. I don't know if this answers the question, but obviously it wasn't smooth, but it was healthy in the end, in a healthy way. And that's what I was expecting too.

“In the end, I think if you don't grow from a situation like this, it's because you didn't learn anything. So in my personal situation, I think I could step away, see different things from other perspectives and value some stuff that maybe I wasn't valuing before. And now it's good because I have a clear idea of what I want, what I am. I might have it before as well, but now it's like a bit clearer. So in the end, it's good that I had it because if I didn't have it, I wouldn't be in this position right now.

Manager Martin O’Neill likened Jota’s return to a new signing for Celtic and there is no doubt the former Benfica man gives the champions’ attack an added dimension. He possesses real creativity, a book of tricks and an eye for goal. In time, there is every chance he will re-emerge as Celtic’s first-choice left winger.

When will he be ready to start? “I don't know,” was the reply. “There's obviously metrics and a process to it and that stuff also belongs to the decision to the manager. Like we need to be clever on my situation obviously because I stopped a lot of time and we don't want to make any mistakes.

“So I think we're in a comfortable situation when everyone realises what needs to be done for me to grow up and to feel better and healthier. So yeah, just trusting the process.”

It’s what Jota has done for the past 18 months. Celtic should be a better team for his return.

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