Newcastle United boss Steve Bruce admits his team's momentum was wrecked by the COVID-19 outbreak within the squad earlier this season.
The Magpies suffered when several of their players and staff got the virus early in the campaign.
They were performing very well up to that point, and even looked like they could battle for a top half finish, but now they are battling relegation.
Asked about their poor run in 2021 so far, Bruce told reporters: "We were doing very, very nicely until Covid.
"But it became a real big problem and now we are without three big players [Alan Saint-Maximin, Callum Wilson and Miguel Almiron] who we've spent a lot of money on."
