Brendan Rodgers backs Jota to come back stronger from long-term knee injury

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has backed “philosophical” winger Jota to come back stronger after being told he faces being out until 2026.

The Portuguese player has been diagnosed with cruciate ligament damage after twisting his knee during the first half of Celtic’s title-clinching victory over Dundee United last weekend.

The 26-year-old was limping heavily as he joined the post-match celebrations in a leg brace and on crutches, and his worst fears were realised.

Rodgers said: “Jota, sadly for him and for us, will be out for a period of time, probably six to nine months.

“It’s the cruciate. It was worse than we had hoped. So he starts on his journey of rehab and recovery and it will be somewhere between six and nine months.”

Jota returned to Celtic Park from Rennes in January after largely unhappy spells in Saudi Arabia and France.

He was in tears after netting against Motherwell on his first appearance and taking the acclaim of the Celtic supporters.

The fan favourite had spoken of how much he appreciated being back in Glasgow but he now faces a different journey back to playing regularly.

“He’s very philosophical in his life,” Rodgers said. “I had a long chat with him and obviously looking at what the plan will be for him going forward and the different phases of what it will look like. So he knows he’s going to get all the support.

“He’s had a difficult, probably, couple of years, really, when you think of how his move to Saudi didn’t quite work out.

“He’s come back to here, he’s loving being back, but he’s telling you, you need to get his level of fitness. And that was to try and get through this season in the best he could and then have a really strong pre-season. So, sadly, that has interrupted that side of it.

“But, I have to say, he is a very positive young guy and I’m pretty sure he’ll come back from this a stronger person and player.”

Celtic will also be missing Alistair Johnston when they take on Rangers at Ibrox on Sunday and both Daizen Maeda and Nicolas Kuhn missed training on Friday.

Rodgers said: “Ali has been needing an injection in his hip for a period of time and, to ensure he was ready for the cup final and had enough preparation, we decided that we would do that after the Dundee United game.

“So, that puts him out of the game at the weekend, and most probably the St Mirren game. Then that gives him a few weeks then to be ready and available for the cup final.

“Dane Murray has had an issue with his knee, and he’ll be out for the rest of the season and then be ready for pre-season.

“Yang (Hyun-jun) is back training with the squad, so we’ll give him one more day and then we’ll see if he’s going to be available for the squad.

“Daizen should be fine, and Nicolas was out. We’re just assessing him and a slight issue with his knee, but he should be OK. We had the scan on that, it’s just a little bit of bruising, but he should be OK.”