Jonas Gutierrez has not given up hope of winning a new contract at Newcastle United . The 31-year-old made his first appearance for the club in 17 months on Wednesday having twice beaten testicular cancer . Gutierrez enjoyed a spine-tingling welcome from 50,000 fans inside St James ’ Park as he came off the bench during the second half of Newcastle ’ s 1-0 defeat by Manchester United . Newcastle midfielder Jonas Gutierrez returned to action on Wednesday having twice beaten testicular cancer . The Argentine ’ s contract expires this summer and it is thought he will be released by the club he joined in 2008 . Gutierrez , though , will fight for an extension . ‘ I am living day by day , ’ he said . ‘ All I can do is work hard in training and work as hard as I can . I ’ m going to fight for my place — I always try to do that . ‘ I ’ m recovering , I ’ m healthy and I ’ m feeling strong — now I have to wait for my opportunity and fight for that . Gutierrez joined Newcastle in 2008 and his contract expires this summer . ‘ I have three months to do my best and we ’ ll see what happens . This is football , you are going to get opportunities so you have to be ready for that. ’ Gutierrez was only given the all-clear following chemotherapy in November and in January he told Sportsmail it would be the biggest moment of his career were he to play again at St James ’ . And he added : ‘ It was unbelievable , the welcome of the fans . It was a long wait so it was emotional . I have to say thanks to the fans for all the support they have sent me . ‘ Since I ’ ve had my cancer and my treatment , I just think day by day . My first step was to be healthy again . After the doctor said I had recovered , I started thinking , “ Now I want to train and want to prove how I feel ” . ‘ At the beginning it was hard because the body has to get used to the training . My body started feeling better and better and that was a big point , to get me where I am . ‘ Now I want more . I ’ m improving every day . ’
Jonas Gutierrez received spine-tingling reception on Wednesday . The 31-year-old was making his first appearance in 17 months . The Argentine midfielder has twice beaten testicular cancer .