Celtic winger Jota has made a surprise appearance for Benfica club media as he compared his former club's training facilities to "Disneyland".
The Portuguese star hasn't kicked a ball since suffering a career-threatening ACL injury at Tannadice in April last year, ruling him out for the whole of last season. The 27-year-old spent the past year rehabbing his injury in Lisbon before reporting back to Lennoxtown in July, where he has been edging closer to a return after 18 months on the sidelines.
Return timeline and fitness update
The winger has been earmarked for a comeback in October. Boss Martin O'Neill had previously warned fans not to expect the 27-year-old back until around Halloween, but in the most recent update from the club assistant Shaun Maloney was hopeful Jota can beat that timeline.
But while Jota has remained quiet as he works his way back, he has now sent a message to his former club as they celebrate the 20th birthday of their Adidas Campus training complex.
Jota's Benfica tribute
The winger - who left the Portuguese giants for Celtic Park in 2021 - told club channels: "There is no better place in the world to evolve. No matter how many experiences I have in different places, nothing compares to what the training at Benfica was like and the development process. I usually say that Benfica Campus is the Disneyland of football."
Jota returned to Celtic after spells at Al-Ittihad and Stade Rennes for £8.4m in January 2025, netting five goals for the club before his horror injury.
Maloney's assessment
Speaking last month, Maloney said: "He's definitely putting in the hours. He looks really strong. He's got every chance. I think it might take a bit of time. Cameron Carter-Vickers had a really bad injury. He was out for eight or nine months, but he had the full pre-season."
"So, we'll have to try and do something similar with Jota to give him the best chance. There's absolutely no doubt that he can do it. It’s one thing coming back to training this week with no contact. Then you have to become free in the next few weeks and build up that tolerance to it. We then have to create friendlies for him too."
"By the time you see him on the pitch for the first team, there will have been a few hurdles to get over. Hallowe’en or November might not be a million miles away. I would hope that it’s earlier for the guy’s sake, but I’m not really sure when it will be."
