Celtic’s favoured media outlets were handed a feel-good story late on Monday night.
Across the Daily Record, Sun and Herald they all reported that Jota is on course for an earlier than expected return. The publishers that made up the Albufeira 4 in July.
Great news but very light on detail.
Nothing about resuming full training which will involve contact with other players.
Nothing about arranging a closed doors match as the next step on his recovery.
Last week Celtic announced their 25 man squad for the Europa League.
It will include an away fixture to Benfica, the club that developed Jota but the Portuguese winger won’t be involved in that match on October 15.
The good news came out against silence over Kieran Tierney and Kasper Hogh.
UPDATE: Celtic assistant boss Shaun Maloney hopes Kasper Hogh and Kieran Tierney will return for Saturday’s trip to St Mirren.
Hogh missed the win against Falkirk while Tierney was forced off – with both out for tomorrow’s Scottish Premiership clash with Aberdeen.
Callum Osmand… https://t.co/l9O7aTS8RP
— Anthony Joseph (@AnthonyRJoseph) September 1, 2026
On Tuesday Shaun Maloney had suggested that after missing the Aberdeen match they’d be in contention to face St Mirren. Neither made it.
Hogh has missed three matches since being put on media duty to preview the win over Falkirk on August 29.
Tierney was injured in that match.
But given two opportunities following the St Mirren match no-one asked O’Neill if Tierney and Hogh were in contention to face St Johnstone on Wednesday.
?? Jota hands Celtic major injury boost as winger’s return timeline ahead of schedulehttps://t.co/hgUj4gsk5D pic.twitter.com/4Du9YR5rWP
— Daily Record Sport (@Record_Sport) September 7, 2026
On Jota the Daily Record reports:
He’s coming along very well. Again, it’s disappointing to not have him for Europe. He’s been out a long time and, who knows, in the last three games in the Europa League we could have done with him.
But its been a long time but he’s been doing really well in small-sided matches he’s been involved in. He’s not been stretched too much yet, but that will come over this month. He might be ready more quickly than I thought.
Celtic star Jota could return ahead of schedule as Martin O’Neill offers fresh update on Hoops star ??? https://t.co/OxkMZM9FmE
— Scottish Sun Sport (@scotsunsport) September 7, 2026
? Martin O’Neill says Jota could return sooner than expected after ‘doing really well’ in training.
The Celtic manager is also hoping that Alistair Johnston is back in action before his scheduled recovery date.
? https://t.co/hRMuJuAex1 pic.twitter.com/1LjTFOeu1S
— The Celtic Way (@celticway1888) September 7, 2026
THE FAVOURED PUBLISHERS OF CELTIC
The Record, Sun and Herald/Celtic Way are clearly the favoured publishers of Celtic. So favoured that they have the lowdown on wages as Bursanspor.
After the transfer window closed there was barely a mention of Michael Nicholson in either of those three publications.
No comment on the failure to sign a physical or defensive midfielder. An area of the team probably weakened further by the sale of Arne Engels.
There is no timeline for the availability of Landon Emenalo. With concerns over the injury record of Kieran Tierney Celtic signed a teenage left-back from Chelsea that hasn’t played a minute of senior football and who is currently injured.
And of course you won’t read anything about the influence of Dermot Desmond on Celtic’s transfer activity.
The Irish businessman has been to just one competitive match this season, the Champions League defeat against LASK.
Following that defeat Celtic raised around £8m from selling Reo Hatate and Johnny Kenny while spending £3m on Joel van den Berg from PSV Eindhoven.
A profit of around £15m was made during the transfer window while significantly cutting the wage bill.
Celtic are expected to publish their Annual Report to 30 June 2026 inside the next fortnight.
The key figures to look out for are turnover, end of year Bank Balance and the amount of Corporation Tax paid on profits.
The report is expected to be published on a Friday night when legacy media publishers have closed their laptops.
Doubt he’ll ever be the same again but hopefully I’m VERY VERY wrong !