Jota made his return to Celtic in the winter. While he had failed at Al-Ittihad and Rennes, the Portuguese winger has shown his quality once again for the Hoops. He has become an integral part of Brendan Rodgers' first-team plans sooner than most would have expected and is consistently in the starting XI and among the goals.
It had looked like Jota had opened the scoring for Celtic against Dundee United but it was adjudged to be an own goal. And then, he went down injured soon afterwards.
Jota was given immediate medical attention but could not continue and had to be taken off in the first half itself. After the game, he was seen on crutches and wearing a knee brace, leading to fears that he had picked up a long-term injury.
Rodgers has now provided an update on the situation of Jota and it is a positive one for the most part. As reported by The Celtic Way, the manager said:
"He just felt his knee with the medical guys, we're looking at whether his meniscus is a little bit sore. We'll just have to assess that. Of course, they put it in the brace to protect it, but we'll see in the next couple of days."
Celtic boss drops Jota update amid long-term injury fears
Of course, that is not a major update on the injury and does not exactly make the situation clear. But judging from Rodgers' comments, it does not feel like it has been assessed as a big problem at first glance. Even that has to be taken as a positive.
Do not expect Jota to be involved when Celtic take on the Rangers in the Glasgow Derby at Ibrox next week. That is a blow, considering his history of scoring in the fixture.
But the more important game remaining this season has to be the Scottish Cup final against Aberdeen. One can only hope that he is fit in time to feature on that day. If he is not, then hopefully we will see him return stronger next season. We wish the winger the best in his recovery.