Jota: Celtic winger out for up to nine months with knee injury suffered in Scottish Premiership title win
The Portuguese winger has cruciate ligament damage which will keep him out long term; Jota returned to Celtic from Rennes in January for £8m; he has scored five goals in 16 appearances since; watch Rangers vs Celtic on Sunday, live on Sky Sports from 11am
Friday 2 May 2025 15:34, UK
Celtic winger Jota has been ruled out for between six and nine months, manager Brendan Rodgers has confirmed.
The 26-year-old picked up a serious knee injury during last weekend's 5-0 away win at Dundee United.
He was taken off during the first half at Tannadice Park as Celtic sealed a fourth consecutive Scottish Premiership title, and left the stadium on crutches.
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"It's not great news for him and for us," Rodgers told Sky Sports News.
"It didn't look as bad, but when he had the scan on his knee, it looks like he will probably be out for six to nine months.
"He's done his cruciate and little bit of other damage in there.
"He's quite upbeat and philosophical about it. He's had a challenging couple of years after his move away from here to Saudi.
"This will give him a chance to come back even stronger.
"We'll definitely have to go into the market, there's no doubt, but that was always going to be the case anyway."
Jota returned to Celtic in January, signing a five-year deal to move from Rennes, 18 months after Celtic had banked a club record £35m fee from his sale to Al Ittihad.
His time on the sidelines starts with Sunday's Old Firm match against Rangers, live on Sky Sports, and he will also miss the Scottish Cup final against Aberdeen on May 24.
