Alan Pardew Comments on Jonas Gutierrez's Loan Away from Newcastle

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew insists that the decision to send Jonas Gutierrez out on loan to Norwich in January of this year had nothing to do with the player's cancer.

Gutierrez recently said he would "never forgive" Pardew for sending him away from St James' Park just months after his October 2013 surgery to treat testicular cancer, per Ian Murtagh in the Daily Star.

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However, the Magpies boss has now attempted to assure the Argentinian midfielder—who signed for Newcastle in 2008—that the decision to loan him out was purely for footballing reasons, per Simon Bird in the Mirror:

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We’ve supported him and tried to do what we can when his illness was made known to us, before it was known publicly. What he has done is absolutely marvelous, to recover like he has. I believe he’s picking up an award. We’re very proud of what he’s done. He needs to rest assured it was purely a football decision. We want to welcome him back here and help him have every chance.

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The 31-year-old Gutierrez will return to Newcastle training next month after being given the all-clear following his cancer treatment:

A perennial fan-favourite, he has played very little football in recent months for obvious reasons but did manage four appearances for Norwich during his loan spell in the second half of last season, per WhoScored.com.

The St James' faithful will hope Gutierrez can bury the hatchet with Pardew following the latter's comments and help Newcastle as they continue to recover from a poor start to the season.