Last week saw the return of Jota, with the Portuguese winger getting a superb emotional ovation from the entire away support as he entered the Fir Park pitch as a second half substitute in the 2-0 win over Motherwell…
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)
It was a pivotal moment for the former Benfica player, as it was his first appearance at first team level in 18 months, and marked a significant milestone in his battle to full fitness.
That was followed on Sunday afternoon when Celtic’s Superstar from Portugal got an even bigger reception from the moment he was sent out to warm up, with his appearance as a second half substitute bringing an even louder applause as he made his first appearance at Paradise in what must have felt like an eternity.
The 27 year old spoke of his happiness at the reception he received, and was glad the supporters had a great day out as the hoops ran riot against the Jambos.
Jota said: “It felt amazing. I was expecting this moment for a long time now, and I think it was a great day as well for everyone. We delivered, and I was really happy with it as well.”
The Celtic favourite described each game as a “new story” and was grateful to have played in a match where the team was already comfortable.
Post match, talking to Celtic TV, Jota expressed his determination to fully recover and regain the sensations that come with regular play. He said: “It’s good to hear. It’s good that people can see that as well. I feel very good as well. I feel fresh.
“Obviously, there’s a process to it, but I’m just thrilled to be playing minutes after minutes and just get all of the sensations back again.”
“I still want to achieve a lot of stuff with them, and I just can’t wait to get back to the level and just deliver every game.”
Speaking to the mainstream media Jota continued with this theme. “It’s like a rollercoaster of emotions,”Jota said via Newsquest’s TCW, as he reflected on the time out of the game through that ACL injury picked up at Tannadice early in April 2025.
“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. 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.”
The longer Jota was out the more supporters started to worry that he may never recover properly from the injury, effectively ending his playing career. Not so Jota himself. “Oh, come on,” Jota said. “No, obviously this is my dream. It’s my passion. I was always being fuelled by this.
“So there are moments where you reflect, there are 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.”
His love of playing football also helped Jota through this dark months out of the game and that set a course for his return to Paradise on Sunday afternoon.
“Just the passion for football. I think that’s my compass. 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.”
Jota admitted that he found in hard watching games due to his own injury woes. “It’s very painful because you want to be there inside and help them and you can’t and you don’t know when you will be again. So again, you just need to rewire inside and see the positives.”