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.
I think we developed a good relationship and we are all on the same table nowadays and we can laugh about everything that happened. "If you don't grow from a situation like this, it's because you didn't learn anything. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player "I could step away, see different things from other perspectives and value some stuff that maybe I wasn't valuing before.
"And now it's good because I have a clear idea of what I want, what I am. I might have it before as well, but now it's a bit clearer. "The happiest thing in life for me is to play football.
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. That's why I'm enjoying so much and valuing this so much." The former Benfica player, who is not in Celtic's Europa League squad, revealed his "passion for football" was his motivation.
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