Talking about injuries affecting results and performances can be easily dismissed as a lazy excuse. It can be seen as an easy get out to mask wider issues and avoid addressing the real problems.
In football and in life we want definitive answers. We like things simple and clean cut. When things are unclear or mysteries left unresolved we feel a sense of emptiness, like we haven't eaten enough food or not seen the last 20 minutes of a film. If we cannot boil our club's problems down to a manager, one player or one formation then something must be wrong.
That feels the case with Chelsea's season, injuries hampering rhythm at key points of this season have left a lingering sense of 'what if?' Even though larger problems currently surround the club.
