Sad news out of England where the Telegraph claims Newcastle United midfielder Jonas Gutierrez has revealed that his testicular cancer has spread to other parts of his body.
Last week that Gutierrez revealed that he had been diagnosed with testicular cancer after months of keeping his health issue secret to only close friends and relatives. Entering the end of his chemotherapy treatment, however, the 31-year-old chose to reveal his torment. Now, sadly, it has emerged that the cancer has spread.
[Related: Gutierrez reveals testicular cancer]
Oddly enough, the incident that tipped off Gutierrez to a potential problem was an October 2013 collision with former Arsenal defender Bacary Sagna.
“I had a strong collision with Sagna,” Gutierrez explained. “It caused a lot of pain and well, it really hurt. I spoke to the doctor straight after the game and he told me: ‘Don’t worry, it’s nothing’. After the holidays I began to feel the pain more in the testicle. The league restarted but by September/October, I noticed that the testicle started to swell up and it was inflamed.
“It felt like a pain, a discomfort. I went back to the doctor and he told me I’d need an ultrasound. He detected the tumor and told me they’d like to operate on me the next day.”
After falling out of favor with Newcastle manager Alan Pardew, Gutierrez went on loan at Norwich City, where he featured in four matches. This summer he began receiving intensive chemotherapy back home in Argentina and has been unable to Newcastle.
[Related: Cisse salutes Gutierrez]
Newcastle teammate Papiss Cisse showed love for Gutierrez on Saturday when lifted his shirt to reveal a message of ‘Always looking forward Jonas’ following each of his two goals against Hull City. Former Newcastle teammate and current QPR midfielder Joey Barton also paid tribute, tweeting: “Heard the terrible news about @elgalgojonas. Wish him a speedy recovery. Great guy with a great family. My thoughts are with them all x”.
In 140 Premier League matches with Newcastle, the hard-running Gutierrez scored six goals and notched 14 assists.