The 78th-minute goal Newcastle midfielder Moussa Sissoko scored against Queens Park Rangers in the visitors' 1-0 defeat at St James' Park on Saturday could have been foreseen after the crushing blow delivered to the club's Premier League survival hopes minutes previously.
When first-choice centre-back Richard Dunne collected his fifth booking of the Premier League season with a heavy tackle on 75 minutes, he opened a can of worms manager Harry Redknapp did not need piled on top of the growing list of problems he faces with his rock-bottom side.
Dunne's one-match suspension coincides with Rio Ferdinand's return to eligibility, following a three-match ban for a juvenile comment he made on Twitter. The Football Association's intervention was embarrassing, but it did Rangers a favour as it took away the issue around Ferdinand's status at the relegation-threatened club.
In the two matches before Ferdinand's enforced exile, against Liverpool and Aston Villa, he had been relegated to the substitutes' bench. The former England and Manchester United star was reduced to spending 180 minutes watching Rangers put in their best performances of the season, up to that point, without him in the side. It was no coincidence.
Ferdinand's best days are behind him, his legacy is secure but his ego is probably a little bit bruised by the results of his shock summer move to Loftus Road. Ferdinand had offers from far richer and more glamorous clubs all over the world but he chose to relocate back to London and link up with his long-time friend and former boss.
Now Redknapp -- who had to fight hard to land one of his favourite defenders, with the QPR owners reluctant -- has to make a major decision. If he reinstalls Ferdinand to his starting XI he will be taking a step backwards; he will be bowing to reputation and celebrity rather than form and future.
Ferdinand, 36, is set to retire at the end of the season while 28-year-old Nedum Onuoha, his main rival for a spot in the heart of the defence, is under contract until 2016 and desperate to prove himself as a centre-back instead of being used as a makeshift right-back.
If Redknapp intends on giving his close friend a final swansong then on paper at least, Leicester look like the ideal side for him to do it against. Nigel Pearson's team have not scored a goal for five Premier League matches dating back to October 4. They offer very little threat in attack at present and Redknapp might be tempted to afford Ferdinand a starting berth against a side lacking confidence in the opposition's final third.
Ferdinand has not lost any of his nous or intelligence -- his football brain and positioning sense are probably still impeccable -- if anything his longevity means he has never been more mentally prepared to snuff out attacks.
But it's what Ferdinand has lost in the years accumulating knowledge that makes him a liability against Leicester. That yard of pace and the suppleness and sharpness that comes only with youth have been eroded over many years at the top and the raw, uncelebrated strikers that are visiting Rangers on Saturday will be only too aware of his weaknesses.
The unbridled energy and pace former non-league footballer Jamie Vardy brings would cause havoc. The hulking Chris Wood poses a physical threat and Leonardo Ulloa showed enough in the early stages of the season to mark him down as a threat to Ferdinand.
Redknapp has made some bold decisions of late -- some have worked, some haven't -- and he needs to revisit that courage at the weekend. Onuoha, who played a huge role in getting Rangers promoted last season in his preferred centre-back slot, deserves the chance to partner Steven Caulker at the heart of the defence.
The Ferdinand experiment failed -- there was no shame in trying, but the beauty of science can only be seen if you learn from your mistakes.