Argentine footballer Jonas Gutierrez was frozen out by Newcastle United after being diagnosed with testicular cancer, he told an employment tribunal on Tuesday.
Gutierrez, who has launched a claim for disability discrimination against the club, joined Newcastle in 2008 and underwent an operation to remove a tumour in his left testicle in October 2013.
He said that despite feeling that he was returning to fitness, he was told by then manager Alan Pardew in December 2013 that his services were no longer required.
"This was the first time I – or any of my representatives – had been notified of this and came as a great shock, so soon after my cancer treatment," Gutierrez, 32, told the tribunal in Birmingham, central England.
"I was very shocked by the club's sudden change of heart about me, particularly as I had played in 194 games for the club at this point and was one of the key first-team players."
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