Leeds United were beckoned closer to the relegation dogfight last weekend with defeat against struggling Everton.
The Toffees inflicted a 3-0 defeat on the Whites to close the gap between the two sides to just a single point.
Everton have a game in hand which they can use to leapfrog Marcelo Bielsa's men in the coming weeks, while Newcastle United also picked up a valuable three points in their bid to move further from the bottom three.
A third consecutive win for the Magpies has sounded alarms for teams above them, such as Leeds.
Eddie Howe's side recorded a 1-0 win at Elland Road prior to January's international break and have continued their good form with victories over Everton and Aston Villa in the space of a week.
Newcastle now trail Leeds by just two points as the Whites face a trio of difficult fixture over the next fortnight.
Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur await Leeds in their next three games, whilst Newcastle face West Ham United, Brentford and Brighton and Hove Albion.
However, Leeds' relegation rivals were dealt a significant blow on Monday morning with news that January signing and stand-in captain Kieran Trippier has sustained a broken foot and will be sidelined for several weeks.
Various reports indicate Trippier's injury is not season-ending, but he is expected to miss a number of crucial games for the Magpies.
The England international and former Atletico Madrid full-back scored the game's only goal on Sunday afternoon as Newcastle defeated Steven Gerrard's Aston Villa.
Trippier also netted Newcastle's third goal against Everton in midweek; both strikes coming from free-kicks.
Leeds have struggled with injuries to key players throughout this campaign, therefore a relegation rival suffering the same fate at a crucial period of the season is reason to be hopeful for supporters.
Given Leeds' potentially troublesome fixtures, their own injury concerns and Newcastle's resurgent form, injury to Trippier allows the Whites to breathe a sigh of relief, albeit a miniature one.
