Celtic Jota Injury Update: The Clearest Return Timeline Yet as Winger Steps Up Recovery
Shaun Maloney has outlined the remaining hurdles facing Jota as the Celtic winger moves closer to his long-awaited comeback.
Phillip Cooney 
Celtic supporters have been waiting a long time to see Jota back in the Hoops, but there is finally genuine hope that the Portuguese winger is approaching the closing stages of his recovery.
Jota has not played since suffering a serious ACL injury against Dundee United at Tannadice in April 2025. The injury brought a devastatingly early end to his first season back at Celtic and subsequently ruled him out for the whole of the following campaign.
After spending much of his rehabilitation period in Lisbon, the 27-year-old reported back to Lennoxtown in July and has gradually increased his workload.
However, Celtic are understandably refusing to rush one of their most valuable attacking players back into competitive action.
When could Jota return for Celtic?
October had reportedly been identified as a possible comeback target, although Martin O’Neill previously suggested that supporters should not expect to see Jota until around Halloween.
The most detailed update has come from Celtic assistant Shaun Maloney, who confirmed that the winger has been working extremely hard behind the scenes.
“He’s definitely putting in the hours,” Maloney said. “He looks really strong. He’s got every chance.”
Those words are encouraging, but Maloney also explained that returning to non-contact training is only one part of an extremely demanding rehabilitation process.
“It’s one thing coming back to training with no contact,” he added. “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.”
That means Jota must successfully clear several important stages before he can be considered for Martin O’Neill’s first-team squad.
He needs to return to full-contact training, build confidence in his knee, regain match fitness and come through specially arranged bounce games without suffering a reaction.
Maloney admitted that Halloween or November “might not be a million miles away,” although he remains hopeful that Jota could progress quickly enough to beat that timeline.
Jota makes surprise Benfica appearance
While he continues his recovery, Jota has appeared in content celebrating the 20th anniversary of Benfica’s Adidas Campus training complex.
The winger paid a glowing tribute to the academy where his career began.
“There is no better place in the world to evolve,” Jota said. “I usually say that Benfica Campus is the Disneyland of football.”
His comments were about Benfica rather than his Celtic rehabilitation, so they should not be mistaken for a personal injury update. Nevertheless, seeing Jota looking positive and publicly engaged will be welcomed by supporters after such a long and difficult absence.
Celtic must handle Jota carefully
Jota returned to Celtic from Rennes for around £8.4million in January 2025, having previously left Parkhead for Al-Ittihad.
He scored five goals following his return before suffering the injury at Tannadice.
The temptation will be to bring him back as quickly as possible, particularly because Celtic have badly missed his imagination, unpredictability and ability to produce decisive moments from the wing.
But there can be no shortcuts.
The most realistic interpretation of Maloney’s update is that October remains an optimistic target, while Halloween or November represents the safer and more achievable window for a first-team return.
Even then, supporters should expect Jota to be introduced gradually rather than immediately starting every game.
After such a serious injury and such a lengthy absence, the priority must be ensuring that when Jota returns, he stays back.
Key Takeaways
- Jota has not played since suffering an ACL injury in April 2025.
- He returned to Lennoxtown in July after completing much of his rehabilitation in Lisbon.
- Shaun Maloney says Jota looks strong and is putting in the required work.
- The winger still needs full-contact training and specially arranged friendly matches.
- October appears to be the optimistic target, with Halloween or November the more realistic comeback window.
- Jota’s latest comments concerned Benfica’s academy and did not confirm a Celtic return date.
