Shaun Maloney admits Jota's return to training makes it feel like Celtic have a new signing in the building.
The winger was seen returning to training with his teammates this morning. That came after weeks of sessions by himself as he eased back in following around 16 months out of action with a cruciate ligament injury.
It's only a matter of weeks since manager Martin O'Neill said he couldn't really include the 27-year-old in his plans until he could prove his fitness, so the sight of him training has excited fans.
Maloney has warned that it will still be some time before Jota is back in full-contact training, and then after that until he will be seen on the pitch. But he is still excited to work with him and see what he can bring to the team.
"Yes, it's really positive for us. I've never worked with him," he said.
"I've watched him, obviously, but we're all excited to get him back. He's still a matter of weeks. Today was the first day, he had a full session in terms of doing every drill, but some of that was unopposed.
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"He's still not in full contact, so it's still a matter of weeks. It's not going to be two or three weeks. He's still a bit to go, but it is really positive.
"He's had a really tough time and he's had a lot of weeks that haven't been positive. He's spent some time in Portugal again, but the last couple of weeks he's looked good. So, as a coaching staff, we're really looking forward to having him back.
"It gives us a completely different type of winger."
Asked if it feels like a new signing, he added: "Oh, he definitely will. We have to temper our expectation because it has been that long.
"That's one thing with Cameron Carter-Vickers, he had a full pre-season, so he was out for pretty much all of last season, but he got six weeks. Jota will need something similar. It will take him a bit of time to get back to his best, but I think we're all excited to work with him and watch him.
"But it's good news, really good news."
