Jota makes Celtic return after 18-month injury absence

Jota made his competitive Celtic return after around 18 months out with a knee injury, coming off the bench in Sunday’s 2–0 victory over Motherwell at Fir Park.

The Portuguese winger replaced Sebastian Tounekti in the 74th minute, with Celtic already two goals ahead through Camilo Durán and Benjamin Nygren.

His introduction marked another step in his recovery from an anterior cruciate ligament injury that had kept him out of competitive football since April 2025.

Jota Celtic return follows friendly comeback

The 27-year-old had already played 45 minutes in a closed-door match against Falkirk during the international break. Before the Motherwell game, Martin O’Neill said there was “every possibility” he could feature at Fir Park.

Motherwell’s official match preview also noted his involvement in friendly matches. Sunday therefore marked his return to competitive action, following those initial minutes as he rebuilt his fitness.

O’Neill introduced Jota after making two other attacking changes, with Haissem Hassan replacing Durán and Shumaira Mheuka taking over from Kasper Høgh a minute earlier.

Celtic secure victory at Fir Park

Durán opened the scoring in the ninth minute before Nygren doubled the lead in the 58th, converting from a Høgh assist.

Celtic maintained their two-goal advantage through the closing stages, allowing Jota to complete his comeback appearance with a victory.

Elsewhere, Liam Scales and Mika Joel Baur shared Celtic’s highest mark of 8.5 in our Motherwell vs Celtic player ratings.

For Jota, the next step is building on this substitute appearance after a lengthy absence.