Bust-up Gutierrez set for recal to Newcastle squad

JONAS Gutierrez is set for a return to Newcastle United’s squad – having been left out last weekend over a bust-up, writes MILES STARFORTH.
Jonas GutierrezJonas Gutierrez
Jonas Gutierrez

The winger was axed from John Carver’s squad for last Sunday’s game against Tottenham Hotspur.

Head coach Carver refused to discuss Gutierrez’s surprise omission after the match, which Newcastle lost 3-1.

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But it is understood that Gutierrez – who said he was not injured on social media after the team was named – was left out after being involved in heated exchange with Carver at the club’s training ground.

Gutierrez had been one of the few players to emerge from the Wear-Tyne derby defeat with any credit, yet he found himself named on the bench for the the club’s next match against Liverpool at Anfield.

Tottenham condemned United to a sixth successive defeat.

And the 14th-placed club, which is seven points above third-from-bottom Leicester City, now has five games in which to secure its Premier League status.

Carver and Gutierrez have spoken this week ahead of Saturday’s crucial home game against Swansea City.

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Both are keen to draw a line under the matter ahead of a hugely-important few weeks for United on the field.

SportMail understands that Gutierrez – who has been training as normal with his team-mates in the build-up to the fixture – will be back in the squad.

Gutierrez’s contract expires at the end of the season.

And the 31-year-old – who has made an inspirational return to the field after being given the all-clear following treatment for cancer late last year – is reconciled to the fact that he won’t be getting a new contract at St James’s Park.

But the Gutierrez is determined to do everything to keep the club in the Premier League in the meantime.

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Carver, meanwhile, will also have Siem de Jong available for the first time since September.

The forward – who had surgery after suffering a collapsed lung in February – played 72 minutes of an Under-21 game this week and will be on the bench.

However, the match could come too soon for fit-again defender Paul Dummett, who is back in training after recovering from the knee injury which has sidelined him for the past two months.