Jonas Gutierrez has paid tribute to Newcastle United fans for supporting him on his road to recovery following a cancer battle last year.

The Argentine has returned to football after successfully battling testicular cancer and has recently been training with the Magpies' Under-21 squad.

The 31-year-old, who was given the all-clear in November, told Sky Sports News: "I'm healthy. My treatment has finished and I'm training with the team. I'm so proud to be back, they have always supported me since my illness and Newcastle have always given me support.

"They stayed with me through a hard moment of my life; my teammates send me messages and call me to ask how the treatment is going. I was so pleased to get those calls and those messages.

"The treatment was hard. The chemotherapy is a hard treatment but I have a lot of power from the fans and from my teammates, they always support me."

Gutierrez looked poised to complete a return to his first club Velez Sarsfield earlier this month before the move broke down.