Jonas Gutierrez returned to football yesterday after his battle with testicular cancer, playing 87 minutes for Newcastle’s Under-21 side.

The 31-year-old was diagnosed in 2013 and underwent surgery in his native Argentina before moving on loan to Norwich for the remainder of last season.

Gutierrez did not make his health issues public until September and since then he has been discharged from hospital and has begun training — with the match yesterday bringing him closer to a first-team return.

The winger captained a young side which defeated West Ham 4-1 and thanked the Toon Army on Twitter after the match for sticking with him over the past year during a difficult time for him.

He said: “Thanks to all the fans for the support that you give through my illness, I am proud to be back. Good game and really happy. Thanks.”

With Gutierrez back on the pitch, manager Alan Pardew hopes to have him playing for the first team just after the new year.

He said: “We’re pleased to have him back. Jonas is one of those people who livens up the training ground just with his personality and obviously his illness has magnified that fact. 

“He hasn’t been around much but he’s in pretty good shape and we are hoping that in two or three weeks he could be back in and around the first team.”