Concerns about whether Jota can regain his sparkle at Celtic

Martin O’Neill revealed yesterday that key figures in the Celtic side, Jota and Cameron Carter Vickers won’t play any part in the remainder of this campaign, with both player not expected to be fully fit until the start of next season.

It’s hardly earth shattering news to be honest, but in terms of one player, our much loved Superstar from Portugal Jota, it’s a major blow as by the time he gets back to full fitness he will have missed well over a year of football. And when you add his previous absences due to other reasons during his stay in Saudi Arabia, it remains to be seen if he can rediscover the heights that we know he’s fully capable of.

The Portuguese winger hasn’t featured since coming off injured against Dundee United in a 5-0 win at Tannadice, the day we clinched the title. It was later revealed that he had suffered a serious cruciate injury, and was given a timescale of 6-9 months to fully recover and return to first team action.

That timescale has now overshot drastically as it’s now been a full calendar year since we witnessed Jota in a Celtic shirt, and it will be a further four months at least before he dips his toes back into competitive action.

The major concern is that Jota fails to get back up to the standard he set before his injury setback, and with a new manager most likely looking to bring in a few new faces, it could be a tough road ahead for the Portuguese winger who remains a hugely popular figure among the Celtic support.

Jota was a player capable of true brilliance and gave us great ability and flair in an attacking sense will chipping in with his fair share of vital goals. Will he show that same characteristic when his injury has fully healed?

Time will tell, but we will all be praying that he comes back as good and as strong as before and he can once again light up Paradise.