Jota tells of his ‘feeling empty’ during long injury layoff
· Yahoo Sports
Ahead of his return to Paradise tomorrow Celtic winger Jota has revealed that he felt ’empty inside’ during his long 18 month injury layoff…
Jota of Celtic celebrates after the Scottish Premiership match between Motherwell and Celtic at Fir Park on October 11, 2026. (Photo by Zak Mauger/Getty Images)
The superstar from Portugal suffered an ACL injury back in early April 2025, and has had to endure several set backs in his long rehabilitation. Thankfully however he has fought back to full fitness making his long awaited comeback as a second half substitute in the 2-0 win over Motherwell at Fir Park last weekend.
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The 27 year-old Celtic favourite has been speaking to the club’s in-house media about the difficult time that he has gone through getting himself ready to once again wear the hoops.
Jota of Celtic applauds the fans after the Scottish Premiership match between Motherwell and Celtic at Fir Park on October 11, 2026. (Photo by Zak Mauger/Getty Images)
“It’s just like blurred,” Jota told Celtic Player. “I don’t know if it’s just like a psychological and mental response to erase that day. The hardest part is that there’s a part of yourself that goes away and you never know when it’s going to come back.
“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.
“Then it’s still a long process once you go training, there’s a lot of stuff to do, but every day you get one per cent better, and that’s enough for you to go home and sleep well.”
Jota of Celtic passes the ball during the Scottish Premiership match between Motherwell and Celtic at Fir Park on October 11, 2026. (Photo by Zak Mauger/Getty Images)
Jota also spoke of his delight at returning to the Celtic first team, and hailed the backing of the Celtic supporters. Now he hopes to repay the fans by helping the club to yet more success.
“So just after the game, seeing some videos and stuff, I could see it when they were chanting like they were, and it was really nice to see.
“I just want to be the best version of myself and to maximise my potential, to go on the pitch and to inspire, ultimately just to give a smile to Celtic fans.
“Obviously there’s the responsibility of winning titles, but I think there’s such a stronger feeling to inspire and to just deliver on the pitch week in, week out, what they know, according to my talent and my capacities, I can do.
“So helping the team with this and then achieving the titles, I think it’s the cherry on the cake, so that’s what I want to do,” Jota said.
11th October 2026; Fir Park, Scottish Premiership, Motherwell versus Celtic; Jota of Celtic comes on as a sub. Photo by Vagelis Georgariou
Jota should tomorrow afternoon get the chance to make his Celtic Park return, again from the bench, and the welcome he will receive will be incredible. If Jota can get back to his best then there is no doubt that he will be a huge asset for the team.
As Martin O’Neill noted after his return at Fir Park, it’s like having a new signing coming in. That just about sums it up.
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