Steve Bruce left Wolverhampton with enough injuries to name a full team – but crucially having also stopped the rot in Newcastle’s fight against relegation.
Paul Dummett and Dwight Gayle both trudged off with muscle problems before half-time, making that 11 players battling issues with the FA Cup replay against Rochdale to come on Tuesday.
Bruce has watched no fewer than six of his squad break down in their last two Premier League games.
The manager defended his injury record last week, bemoaning the schedule, but the recurring muscle problems dictate that questions are being asked.
Perhaps serious examination of that is for another day, given Newcastle came away from here having stemmed the bleeding of their own form following three consecutive defeats.
There was a fair amount of rearguard action required for that, Martin Dubravka completing two stunning saves and Matty Longstaff clearing off the line.
Newcastle set up bravely, matching Wolves up and asking both Miguel Almiron and Joelinton to occupy central defenders while also keep an eye on the wing backs.
They played with vigour on the break, Dwight Gayle linking play, and it was the striker – making just his second start of the season – who acted as architect of the opener.
That came on seven minutes, scored by Almiron, and came as Newcastle powerfully moved through the lines. Gayle chested off for the marauding Jetro Willems, who returned possession.
Gayle was off balance but alert to Almiron’s run, slipping in the winger and his finish was emphatic high into Rui Patricio’s top left-hand corner. Newcastle’s 500th away Premier League goal, the ninth club to reach that landmark.
Far more pertinently, though, was that preceded serious trouble. Dummett was forced off early on, pulling up with what appeared to be a reoccurrence of a calf problem. Seconds later, Wolves were level.
VAR had decided against overturning the decision not to award a penalty after Ciaran Clark and Pedro Neto collided, yet Newcastle were not alive at the resulting corner. Federico Fernandez was the guilty party, on his heels as Leander Dendoncker seized upon a flick on, hooking a volleyed equaliser.
They have been ahead in matches for just 349 minutes all season – seven between these two goals.
There remained plenty of industry from Newcastle, with Almiron catching the eye both ways, but the ball became far harder to retain a grasp of. Gayle went down and subsequently off before the half-hour and Bruce was fast running out of options. Joelinton, the £40million striker who the manager believes is struggling mentally, then led the line.
At one point before half-time, it did appear he might have depart as well. When he eventually did, a tactical switch for Andy Carroll with 11 minutes remaining, the travelling supporters cheered ironically. The one positive was that any descent was not quite as audible as at Rochdale last week.
Wolves prowled, played through midfield with increasing ease, and Bruce was indebted to Martin Dubravka that they went in with parity. His defenders were lost when Adama Traore cut inside to stand a cross towards the back post and Raul Jimenez was there to meet it, completely unmarked, only for the goalkeeper to thwart him on the line with his left leg. The save drew applause from the home supporters when shown on Molineux’s big screens.
Dubravka would later have his say again, scrambling to cover his near post when thwarting Neto’s header. More heroics were required, Matty Longstaff scampering back onto his goal line to make sure Matt Doherty’s shot did not squeeze in.
The home crowd was reaching a state of real agitation; Newcastle had reverted to a 5-4-1 in preservation of a point, something they just about managed.