"I've met some demons," Jota said as he reflected on an 18-month absence with knee injury and his return to Celtic action. He made his Celtic Park return as a half-time substitute in the 7-1 win against Hearts, and he says the spell away from football left him with a clearer idea of what he wants.
The reset after 18 months out
Jota's own description of the recovery is a long way from a player counting the days until he could get back. Speaking to the BBC, he said: "I have a clear idea of what I want, what I am. There's no lost time because I grew a lot. It had to be what it had to be and I didn't lose. I actually gained because I'm way stronger nowadays."
He also described the harder side of the lay-off in more human terms. Speaking to the Daily Record, he said: "We grew up with this feeling that football is just granted to us every day, and once it goes away, then you just feel empty with no floor."
Celtic are easing him back
The comeback has been managed carefully. Jota returned to first-team action in the 2-0 win at Motherwell before coming off the bench again against Hearts, and he is not in Celtic's Europa League squad.
That fits the tone of everything he has said publicly, including: "So there's no rush, let's do everything correctly and just trust the process."
Celtic can afford that patience. They sit top of the Premiership with 24 points from 9 matches, have won 8 of their 9 league games and have scored 23 goals already. Jota's next appearances are likely to remain domestic ones as Celtic keep building his minutes gradually.
Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →
