Celtic midfielder Paulo Bernardo gives Jota injury update

The Herald Scotland

4 days ago

He is keeping in touch with all things Celtic though, and in particular his teammates, with compatriot Paulo Bernardo revealing that his friend's rehabilitation is on schedule.
'Yes, [I speak to him] sometimes,' Bernardo said.
'He's now in Portugal on rehab. I'll probably be with him after the game [on Saturday].
(Image: Craig Williamson - SNS Group) 'I spoke to him [on Wednesday] and he seemed okay. He had his operation very well and now he's doing rehab. I think he's okay. I'll see him next week.
'He was determined to come back here in January very strong. He told me that he wasn't very fit at the time because of the game time he had before. But I think he shows everyone that he can come back and show his football again.
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'He scored goals, made assists and played important games. He had a great response to that. I think in his mind, he's very strong.
'He said to me that the surgery went well. He's obviously a great player. Fans love him.
'I never played a lot with him [when we were younger]. I had a pre-season with him in Benfica. Of course, he joined Benfica very young too. So, I always met him sometimes in the campus. Maybe some trainings.
'But he's really a great guy. I was already a friend of him in Benfica and his coming back here was good for me too.'
With such players at Celtic's disposal, and the strength in depth to cope even with the absence of those who possess the quality of Jota, it is little wonder that the Scottish football scene can sometimes appear a little easy for Brendan Rodgers' treble-chasers.
But if they are to end the campaign with the three domestic trophies by beating Aberdeen in today's Scottish Cup Final, Bernardo is adamant that hard work and high standards are the thing that has allowed them to meet those high expectations.
'I think the season is always like that,' he said.
'But we have to prove every game that we are better and not only on the expectation, we need to do that in reality, with the mentality that it will be a difficult game, because it will be.
'For the people that say that we have easy games, they are wrong. Because it's not easy games. We can make things look easy because of the hard work that we put into the whole season and winning titles. But the hard work does that.
'It's very good to listen to the 100 people who want to make us champions on paper, but we have to do it on the pitch. We need to prove on the pitch, and we can't listen to their things, and we have to make the right choices.
'I think the titles give us the credit. We don't need the people to say we are amazing. We won the title and that's it for us. It's the best feeling that we can have.'
On a personal note, Bernardo has been satisfied with his first full season as a permanent Celtic player, if a little frustrated by the tear of a ligament in his foot earlier in the campaign, and the subsequent struggle to nail down a regular starting place in the midfield three.
'I think it was very good,' he said.
'I think I can improve a lot yet. But I think it was a good season, a good start for Celtic.
(Image: Craig Williamson - SNS Group) 'But yeah, I think I have space to improve, and I can improve for the next season.
'I had a little injury that wasn't at a great time. But I did my work, and I think I came back strong enough to compete again.
'I knew that [the injury] was difficult for me because I stopped for like two months, I think.
'And the players did their work and keep playing and keep winning games. And our midfield is really strong and we had a lot of options, so it wasn't great at the time when I came back.
'But I had my chances and I think I did my work and it helped me to come back.'