Celtic appear to be stepping up their bid to land Jota on a permanent deal despite returning to Benfica.
The 22-year-old had been one of the outstanding performers during the current campaign with eight goals to his name and seven assists before picking up a hamstring injury.
Celtic have an option to buy him for £6.5million as part of the loan deal and if his form so far signals it could be a bargain.
But the winger has been out since the start of December having pulled up against Hearts, and Benfica had brought the talent back to the club's training complex to be assessed.
He was ordered back home by Benfica's medical staff to check on his injury recovery plan with the Lisbon club's physios and was pictured at their Seixal training complex.
The move comes as Benfica reserve manager Nelson Verissimo, who was Jota's manager when he played for their second string team, has taken over first-team duties from axed Jorge Jesus.
During his time in charge, Jesus was criticised by fans in Lisbon over failing to give youth a chance in the starting line-up and Verissimo will look to sort that quickly.
However, concerns over a recall from his loan in the Premiership lookk to be unfounded with all roads now appearing to lead the winger to Parkhead for the long term.
A Bola report that Celtic and Portuguese giants are now in advanced talks over a permanent switch for the forward.
They state that the £6.5million is the "starting point" for a deal between the clubs.
It is also noted that Jota's return to the Seixal Training Centre is only to assess the injury issue, after a similar return to his parent club while on loan at La Liga outfit Real Valladolid.
