Jota says he is “way stronger” after overcoming the personal and physical struggles of an 18-month absence, as the Celtic winger continues his return to football.
The 27-year-old made his latest comeback step at Celtic Park on Sunday, coming on at half-time during the club’s 7-1 victory over Hearts.
His spell on the sidelines followed a serious knee injury suffered as Celtic secured the title at Tannadice in April 2025, just as the Portuguese player was beginning to rediscover his form.
Jota’s recent difficulties had also included an unsettled period away from Parkhead. After joining Saudi club Al Ittihad, he was unable to play when the club exceeded its quota of foreign players, before a frustrating spell at Rennes.
The recovery from injury was not straightforward, but Jota said the experience had given him a greater appreciation of his career and a clearer sense of perspective.
“I’ve met some demons and I’ve had some good talks with them,” he said. “I think we developed a good relationship and we are all on the same table nowadays and we can laugh about everything that happened.”
Jota added: “If you don’t grow from a situation like this, it’s because you didn’t learn anything.”
The former Benfica player, who is not included in Celtic’s Europa League squad, said his love of football had driven him through the difficult periods.
“The happiest thing in life for me is to play football,” Jota said. “I couldn’t in the last year or so. So right now, every time I step on a training pitch or a football pitch, for me it’s everything.”
He acknowledged that there had been moments when he was unable to see a way forward, but insisted that his ambition had never changed.
“This is my dream. It’s my passion,” he said. “There’s moments where you reflect, there’s moments where 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.”
Jota said he was determined not to rush his recovery, believing he still had a long career ahead of him.
“My aim was always 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,” he said. “So there’s no rush, let’s do everything correctly and just trust the process.”
Asked whether he felt he was making up for lost time, Jota rejected the idea that the period had been wasted.
“There’s no lost time because I grew a lot,” he said. “It had to be what it had to be and I didn’t lose. I actually gained because I’m way stronger nowadays.”
