Gutierrez talks candidly about his cancer battle - and the pain of Newcastle's rejection

JONAS GUTIERREZ can still remember the searing pain that first forced him into the medical examination that ended with a diagnosis of testicular cancer. He can still vividly recall the shock of being told he would have to have one of his testicles removed, not to mention the subsequent trauma of the chemotherapy treatment that was required to ensure the disease did not spread.

It is only now, some five months after he received the all clear, that the Newcastle United winger is able to reflect on all that he has been through and ignore the temptation to feel anger or bitterness at his misfortune. Instead, those emotions are reserved for his employers; the people he clearly feels deserted him during his hour of greatest need.

“I won’t be able to forgive the way I’ve been treated,” said Gutierrez, in an interview with French television channel Canal Plus that represented his first in-depth discussion since returning to England in December.

Out of contract at the end of the season, and with his prospects of receiving a new deal perceived to be slight, the 31-year-old clearly feels he has nothing to lose by baring his soul. His criticisms are measured, his tone reserved. But the bitterness at Newcastle’s desire to cut him adrift in the wake of his treatment comes through loud and clear.

“I returned mid-November (of 2013) and, at the beginning to mid-December, the manager said I should find myself another club,” said Gutierrez. “That it was best. I understand a lot of things about football – that, well, that for the directors, it is a business, no?

“It is clear that they look after the club’s interests, but I think in a situation like that, you need to save (consider) other things, even more if you see I had been playing for five years before having this problem. I was always playing.”

Reeling from such an unsympathetic rejection, Gutierrez headed to Norwich City on loan. He picked up an injury after playing four matches, and by the time he returned to full fitness, Chris Hughton had been dismissed and he was instructed to return to Newcastle. His reception was hardly heartfelt.

“I understood the team at that time, that one needed to fight to return to the pitch,” he said. “Well, I don’t think it was the right time, nor the circumstances. And I think at times like that, you should look after the individual, the player.”

Alan Pardew has subsequently claimed that Gutierrez’s ostracism was a “purely footballing decision”, but the Argentinian clearly begs to differ. He subsequently returned to his homeland to complete his treatment, and claims to have paid his own medical bills rather than going to the club to ask for financial support.

“I never asked for anything,” he said. “I paid for it because for me, the most important thing, as I told you, was my health. If they thought it was okay to do it that way, then it’s okay. I never asked for anything, and that’s it. I wasn’t interested.”

Over a period of two or three months, Gutierrez underwent an intensive course of chemotherapy after a metastasis was discovered in his adrenal glands.

Even at this stage, the news of his illness had not been disclosed, and while he was happy to be away from the limelight as he attempted to deal with an invasive course of treatment, he admits it was hard to cope with the mental challenges of chemotherapy.

His family and friends were an immense support, but having been a professional sportsman who prided himself on his strength and physical vitality, he struggled to come to terms with the helplessness involved in receiving life-saving therapy.

“It’s (chemotherapy) a word where, every time you hear it, you are scared,” he said. “Without doubt, it was very hard to subject myself to a treatment like chemotherapy – it’s a treatment that precisely tries to fight whatever is wrong in the body.

“It is clear it’s an empty feeling, but it fights whatever one has wrong and tries to take it out. The best thing to do was to undergo the treatment as quickly as possible and remain positive to get through it.

“From the first moment from the surgery, I remained positive and always trying to look ahead. My friends and family, it was probably harder because they had to support me during a time like that. Sometimes, with chemo, you are very down, you go down.

“For those who support you, it is also very difficult to know how to act at certain times. Then well, not even to mention my girlfriend, this happened very early in our relationship, we were only starting to know each other and she was next to me like a lioness, like a warrior, and was next to me at all times.”

Having been successfully discharged, Gutierrez returned to England again at the end of last year. His first training session was a major step on the road to full recovery, and the journey was completed at the start of this month when he came off the substitutes’ bench against Manchester United.

His first St James’ Park appearance for almost two years was greeted rapturously, and the winger will always be grateful for the emotional response of the Newcastle fans.

“The people from Newcastle, the fans, have behaved amazingly,” he said. “When I go around the city, they congratulate me and say I’m looking very well. They are very emotive words that make you very proud when you hear them. People have been so concerned for me, and they’ve sent me those messages.”

All of which brings us to the present time, and a need to consider the future. Gutierrez’s contract contains a clause that would automatically entitle him to another year of employment, but he is unlikely to make sufficient appearances between now and the end of the season to trigger it.

Despite all that has happened, he would love to spend one more year on Tyneside. Above all else though, he is determined to see out his playing days with a smile on his face.

“I know the situation here isn’t the easiest, but I’m going to fight to remain here,” he said. “Time will tell, what can I do? It’s in my control to give the best of me and see how far I can get.

“Without doubt, after a problem like I had, one sees things from a different perspective, and the order of priorities changes.

“I think the most important thing is health. Health and happiness. Sometimes, we get into a lot of trouble for things that really aren’t that significant.”