‘Long one’ – Jota delivers injury recovery update as he explains what life at Celtic really means

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Celtic fans were stunned and over the moon in equal measure in January.

That’s because their hero Jota made a return to the Hoops after a disastrous spell at Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia and then Stade Rennais in France.

Jota sealed an £8m move and was brought to tears when he scored his first goal for the club upon his return against Motherwell at Fir Park.

However, Jota was only just getting up to speed again when he suffered a serious knee injury against Dundee United on the day Celtic clinched the title last season.

He was ruled out for up to nine months due to cruciate ligament damage. Now, just over two months into his recovery, he has provided an update.

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Jota speaks about his Celtic injury recovery

Celtic are currently in Lisbon for their eight-day warm weather training camp and Jota arrived at the club’s base to say hello.

A clip of him greeting John Kennedy and the rest of the coaching and performance staff went viral on social media, before Celtic TV dropped an interview clip with the man himself.

Speaking about his injury recovery, Jota revealed that he’d rather be in this position than not because life at Celtic is more interesting when there’s twists and turns at every corner.

The superstar from Portugal said: “Feeling really well, believing the process, trusting the process. It’s a long one, but I’m happy with the development and I think I’m on the right track to be fit in good shape and be back playing football again.

“It’s the life of Celtic, isn’t it? It’s like there’s never like a smooth line. It’s always like on the top. So I’d rather be like this instead of like nothing happening and always the same constant line.

“So yeah, I’d rather live in this way and I’m really excited to see the way I’m going to come back. And I can’t wait for it.”

Celtic’s current winger options

With Jota out until potentially the start of 2026, Brendan Rodgers currently has five options for the wide areas in his squad.

James Forrest is contracted until 2026, while Celtic signed Benjamin Nygren for £2m this summer. The Bhoys also have Daizen Maeda, but will be without Nicolas Kuhn soon.

Kuhn has agreed a £17.2m switch to Como, with Nygren viewed as his replacement. Celtic also have Yang Hyun-jun, Marco Tilio and Luis Palma.

But Sky Sports have reported that Celtic are looking to offload Tilio and Palma this summer. Michel-Ange Balikwisha could be Celtic’s next new winger from Royal Antwerp.