CELTIC JOTA INJURY: DAILY RECORD HYPOCRISY ISN’S EVEN SUBTLE ANYMORE
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- 8 minutes ago
- 2 min read
If there’s one thing I learned from watching Rangers (Requiescat in Pace) in the 1990s, apart from the obvious dangers of tax dodging, it’s that players can, and do come back stronger from horrible injuries.
Today, as I was going through my usual scan of the morning news, I saw a typically sensationalist, rage-baiting headline from the Daily Record. It read as follows: “Celtic fans may need to realize they may never see another Celtic Jota magical moment”.
Contrast this with a similar player, in a similar situation, back in 1995, when medical treatments for footballers were nowhere near as intricate and precise as they are now.
Celtic Jota Future Remains Uncertain, But Gazza Parallels are Undeniable
When Rangers (Requiescat in Pace) signed England international Paul Gascoigne in the summer of 1995, there’s no denying they were getting one of the most gifted English players of his generation.
It was also a massive risk, given that Gascoigne had never quite settled in Italy with Lazio, and was, even then, known for is often bizarre, self-destructive behavior.
Nonetheless, the very same Daily Record that today put out what appears to be a pre-emptive obituary for Jota’s footballing career, hailed the move as “The biggest in Scottish football history”. Little, if anything, was said about the cruciate injury that had seen the midfielder miss over a year of competitive football.
A reminder, Gascoigne’s injury back in 1991 was near identical to the one Jota received last season. However, 35 years is a long time in sports science. Gascoigne, whatever you may say about the man or his behavior off the field, was an undoubted genius on it.
The cruciate ligament injury didn’t change that. Now Jota is a very different type of player on the pitch, and, I would suggest, a far better human being off of it.
And yet, in the eyes of the hacks at the Daily Record, he is, apparently, a spent force. The old cliché of “he’s never the same player after a knee ligament injury” doesn’t apply anymore.
It’s a serious injury and the recovery time is always measured in months rather than weeks, but players do come back from it, just as Paul Gascoigne did 30 years ago.
The Daily Record can choose to ignore that if they wish, but they do so at their peril.
Jota will return, when he’s ready, and I have no doubt the Daily Record will, immediately, try to pretend today’s embarrassing little exercise in attention seeking never happened when he does.
Don’t let them forget. The next time Jota scores a stunner against their beloved Rangers, remember today. Remember when they gloated over the injury struggles of one of our own. Remember the hypocrisy, and remember why we will, as we always do, win out in the end.