Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew has insisted that the club's decision to tell winger Jonas Gutierrez to find a new club while he was fighting testicular cancer was made on a "pure football" basis.
The 31-year-old initially returned to St James' Park last December, before being shipped out on loan to Norwich City the following month.
Gutierrez has since had to fight the illness for a second time, but having successfully won his battle once more, he is expected to return to training with the Magpies in the coming weeks.
Some reports suggested that the 31-year-old was told to find a new club during his treatment, yet Pardew says that he will welcome the player back with open arms.
"It was a pure football decision and those are decisions that have to be made," he is quoted as saying by ESPN. "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 marvellous, 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."
Gutierrez's last appearance for the Toon came back in October 2013 in a 2-1 victory against Cardiff City.
Daniel Lewis
