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Pardew's Support For Gutierrez
Written by Newcastle Utd
Alan Pardew has spoken of his support for Magpies midfielder Jonas Gutierrez, who is battling cancer
By Tom Easterby
After Jonas Gutierrez revealed he was receiving treatment for testicular cancer earlier this week, Alan Pardew today spoke of his support for the Magpies midfielder.
The 31-year-old wide man is undergoing chemotherapy in his native Argentina in a bid to beat the disease, and his manager said the Club were doing everything they can to provide support for their popular player.
"I've known about this for a long while and of course I've kept my counsel, because that was the request from Jonas and his family," explained Pardew.
"As a Club we've tried to support him as best we can, but obviously he took his treatment to Argentina so he's some distance away."
The United boss also praised the response from Newcastle supporters, who have flooded social media and nufc.co.uk with well-wishing messages this week, and spoke in a heartfelt fashion about the admirable manner in which Gutierrez is combatting the illness.
"We send our love - it's fantastic, the messages of support he's had, and we'll continue to support Jonas," he said.
"It's an emotional situation for me and I really hope that he comes back sooner rather than later and I'm sure that's reflected in all the messages that our fans want to send.
"We have something on the website where messages can be sent to him and I thank them for that.
"I certainly think it would have been a shock to our players. We haven't really discussed it yet but it's something that, in terms of a man's life, it's a blow - it could happen to any of us.
"It's such a severe blow and the way Jonas is dealing with it just goes to show the mentality that he has and the strength that he has and he can hopefully give an example to people out there who may even be contracting it today."