Celtic winger Jota has returned to light first-team training at Lennoxtown after 16 months out with an ACL injury, and manager Shaun Maloney is hopeful the Portuguese star can beat his projected Halloween comeback timeline.
Jota has been sidelined since suffering a devastating ACL injury in April 2025. He has now taken a major step by rejoining light training, but still has weeks of work ahead before he can return to competitive action.
Maloney's Recovery Plan
Maloney, who suffered a similar knee injury during his playing career, outlined the careful process ahead: "There is a fair bit to this. 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."
He added: "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."
Maloney remains optimistic: "Hopefully it will be quicker because he has accelerated in the last few weeks but I'm not really sure."
New Signings and Attack Revamp
Celtic have already spent £17 million on a new frontline, with record signing Kasper Hogh and Camilo Duran arriving at Parkhead. The club is also closing in on a £6 million deal for Real Oviedo winger Haissem Hassan, who could be the final addition to the wide areas this summer.
Maloney hinted at the attacking depth: "On that left side, when Jota comes back, you'll have Tounekti and Yang. Yang obviously played there in the last game. I really like Yang off the left. Yeah, it's really strong. So, on that left side, when Jota's fit, we're really good. On the right side, it's slightly different. We need to replace the profile that we lost in Nicolas Kuhn or the club lost in Kuhn, because when you've got that sort of left-footed winger, you can attack differently."
Patience and Support
Maloney stressed the need for patience: "I think maybe from our side you have to just temper it slightly. I think for Jota himself, I wouldn't want to stop any sort of positivity because it has been that difficult for him. I think it's just really slowly building him into training. Today he did every drill, but not every drill was contact."
He added: "It's still going to be a good few weeks, not two or three. It's a matter of weeks for him to build up, get into training, full contact. But it is really positive. I know it's positive for the boy, it's positive for us and obviously his support. I've never worked with him, but when I've watched him, he is very, very good."
Medical Team Praised
Jota completed most of his rehabilitation in Lisbon, but Celtic's coaching staff stayed in regular contact. Maloney praised the medical team: "The medical team are really important. As can happen in longer injuries, he's got a really good connection with the physios. They're probably the more important than us. I think constant communication with them has probably helped."
He also noted the support from the coaching staff: "And the boss as well. I think we've all been on Zooms with him when he's been doing his rehab in Portugal. Fozzy is the most positive guy in the world. He's been really, really good with him. But also Martin. Martin's been really, really good with him in terms of constantly being in communication."
Maloney concluded: "That's all peripheral stuff. I think the main guys that he's relied on is the physical and the medical team. The medical team and him have really been inseparable. They have to take any sort of credit rather than us - every week or once a fortnight speaking to him. These guys have been on daily communication with him. I think the last couple of weeks have been really positive."
