Celtic winger Jota says he has found extra gratitude and strength after wrestling with his "demons" during an 18-month lay-off. The Portuguese player took another major step in his comeback when he returned to Celtic Park action as a half-time substitute in Sunday's 7-1 demolition of Hearts.
The 27-year-old suffered a serious knee injury as Celtic clinched the title at Tannadice in April 2025, just as he was rediscovering his form after a difficult time in between spells at Parkhead. He had joined Saudi club Al Ittihad and soon found himself unable to play when the club went over their foreign players quota, before a frustrating stint at Rennes. The recovery from injury was far from smooth, but he is determined to make the most of his fitness.
"In the end, it's part of everyone's life," he said. "Everyone struggles, but certainly other people have worse problems. So I'm just grateful and privileged to be in such a wonderful sport and to have all of these experiences."
"I've met some demons and I've had some good talks with them," he added. "If you don't grow from a situation like this, it's because you didn't learn anything. I could step away, see different things from other perspectives and value some stuff that maybe I wasn't valuing before." He said his passion for football was his motivation. "This is my dream. It's my passion. So there's moments where you're down and you cannot see any light, but that doesn't mean that you stop believing," he said. When asked if he felt he was making up for lost time, Jota said: "There's no lost time because I grew a lot. I actually gained because I'm way stronger nowadays."
Source: Sky Sports Champions League · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing