Celtic hero Jota continues his rehab this summer after suffering a horror ACL injury against Dundee United last season.
Jota returned to Celtic in the January transfer window and made an immediate impact with one goal and two assists in his first three games for the Parkhead club.
However, in Celtic’s 5-0 win over Dundee United in April, the Portuguese winger was taken off after falling awkwardly and injuring his right knee.
Jota’s injury was a sore one for Celtic fans to take as the excitement over the popular winger’s return was dampened down.
Now, three months later, Chris Sutton was proved correct about Jota’s return timeline after Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers delivered a hammer blow update.
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Chris Sutton’s Jota injury prediction is a ‘tough one’ for Celtic fans to take
Most Celtic fans have accepted that Jota’s injury was bound to keep him out of the team for a prolonged period of time.
But Sutton believed over the weekend that the Celtic fans are unlikely to see the winger back at his best until the start of the 2026/27 season.
The Celtic hero wrote in the Daily Record, “I’m still waiting for the club to do really serious business in this transfer window.
“And they are going to need to get a shift on. As it stands Celtic are weaker than they were at the end of the season. That’s just a fact. They’ve brought in Kieran Tierney and Benjamin Nygren for the first team but Nicholas Kuhn and Greg Taylor are big losses. You can chuck Jota into that as well.
“It might be tough to swallow but he’s not likely to be anywhere near back to his best until the start of the following season.
“He wasn’t quite up to speed when he picked up the ACL and he’ll need a good few months at the tail end of the coming term.”
And it appears that he was proved correct after what Brendan Rodgers has just said.
Brendan Rodgers dampens Celtic fan excitement over Jota’s injury return
Celtic fans were excited to see Jota up and about after the winger welcomed the Hoops first-team to Portugal last week.
However, Rodgers has dampened that feeling now after the Celtic boss delivered a crushing update on when fans will see Jota in the green and white Hoops again.
Rodgers told The Scottish Sun, “He’s coming along really well.
“I think we obviously sent him back to assess his fitness here and be with his family. And yes, the progress has come along really well.
“I think the first 12 weeks of that injury, it’s important that you get to a point where you can, in the nine to 12 weeks, that you’re able straighten it.
“So he can do that. He was in the gym. So he’s coming along well. He’s got a long, long way to go. It’s going to be in to next year.”
With the season finishing in May, Jota will be nowhere near where he needs to be fitness-wise to showcase his skills again at Celtic Park.
The problem for Rodgers and the Hoops board now is to find a player who can fill the winger’s boots for the coming season as the new season kick-off approaches.
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