Last night as Sunderland laboured to a win in the capital, football took a backseat to the revelation that all football fans must surely have been waiting for: Jonas Gutierrez has won in his battle against cancer. Gutierrez used his Twitter account to thank everyone for the support during his long battle with and treatment for testicular cancer, and offered the simple, emotive message "Today, I was given a medical discharge": https://twitter.com/elgalgojonas/status/529376647561371649 He was initially diagnosed with cancer after a strong collision with former Arsenal midfielder Bacary Sagna in May 2013, after which he had a scan that revealed a tumour. He kept the news understandably private, and asked that Newcastle United did as well. Unfortunately, some took the club's refusal to acknowledge the problem in hindsight as a sign of their apathy, and misread his compassionate leave as being not allowed to train with the club - mostly because certain reporters released the news in that frame. Obviously, any recovery is a longer road than any non-sufferer could ever even conceive, but the discharge, and Jonas' own obvious elation is a big first step. Let's hope for a speedy return to normalcy for the Argentinian midfielder.
