Steve Bruce reveals Newcastle could be without two defenders at Aston Villa

Clark, 30, sustained a knock in Ireland’s 1-1 draw with Denmark in midweek and that has left him facing a fight to be fit to face his old club Villa.

The centre-back has enjoyed a renaissance of late in a Newcastle shirt and has scored in each of his last two appearances, which were victories over West Ham and Bournemouth.

But Clark could miss out on facing Bruce's former club on Monday because of the injury, so the Newcastle boss is having to consider the alternatives to slot in particularly with Jamaal Lascelles also ruled out through injury.

“Cieran is our biggest worry after coming back with Ireland with a knock,” said Bruce. “Florian Lejeune and Fab Schar come in to the reckoning after their injuries.

“During these last two weeks we have learned Lascelles has a fractured of tibia, a nasty injury, but not as bad as we thought it could be, we thought it could have been his cruciate. Flo is the big one, been out so long, he is now ready to go.

“Is Flo right? That’s the key. There comes a point where they can’t keep training and training. He is wonderful pro and done everything he can.

“He thinks he is ready and that’s the most important thing. We are blessed in that we have six of them who are very good at what they do in that area of the itch. We are losing one maybe two, but we are fortunate we can bring in another two.”

Newcastle have climbed seven points above the relegation zone after winning back-to-back matches in the top-flight, but Bruce wants that good form to be maintained.

“A couple of wins, the difference it makes to a club like ours, they are all champing at the bit,” said Bruce. “Let’s hope we can keep it going.

“The next five or six weeks is probably the defining week of the season. It will define the season where we will be. We have played four months and we have played 12 games. Now we have six maybe seven in a month. Defining period.”