Very Specific Football Question No.13: Which injured player has been missed most in the Premier League?

Talent, tactics, team spirit and transfers are four of the five things that have most effect on whether a Premier League team succeeds or fails in any given season. The crucial fifth element is injuries.

No matter how far you excel in elements one to four, the fifth can undermine your entire operation. It’s like showing up for work in a £10,000 suit complete with impeccable blazer, tie, shoes and shirt - but no trousers.

Just as Chelsea’s title success was founded on having a settled team last season, Hull City slumped to relegation with several key players on the treatment table. This year is no different, with a combination of season-ending mishaps and frustrating niggles shaping the league table. But which player’s absence has had the greatest impact?

Chelsea’s defence has fallen apart since Thibaut Courtois was ruled out for three months in September, but the Belgian goalkeeper had conceded six goals in three matches before his knee gave way. The Blues were already falling apart, and a subsequent injury to the out-of-sorts right-back Branislav Ivanovic has changed nothing.

Manchester United’s loss of heterosexual left-back Luke Shaw was traumatic, but it has also created an opportunity for Marcos Rojo to carve out a place in the side he joined for £16m last year - an example of the hidden squad benefits an injury can sometimes bring.

Arsenal are without Danny Welbeck long-term, but their other strikers Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud have been thriving in his absence, while injury to midfielder Jack Wilshere is something the Gunners have learned to get used to. Time will tell if this week’s loss of Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain proves costlier.

The recent international break was a damaging one for Manchester City, as their two best players David Silva and Sergio Aguero suffered injuries playing for their countries that will keep both out for weeks. So far, City’s lavish squad seems to be coping.

Stoke’s form has undoubtedly suffered without club captain Ryan Shawcross, who made his first appearance of the season in this week’s cup win against Chelsea. Everton’s defence has also looked less assured without the calming influence of Leighton Baines at left-back, while a lay-off for Phil Jagielka is set to increase Robert Martinez’s problems.

Southampton and West Brom are enduring months without their first-choice goalkeepers, Fraser Forster and Ben Foster, but the defensive nous of their managers has allowed them to remain solid at the back. Newcastle also face a season without their number one, Tim Krul, and have conceded five goals in two matches since his demise, although one of those was a 6-2 victory.

West Ham don’t seem to be missing Alex Song and they also flourished without Andy Carroll, while Crystal Palace have performed well in the absence of strikers Connor Wickham and Marouane Chamakh.

At the bottom, fired manager Tim Sherwood may rue the absence of Jores Okore from Aston Villa’s defence, while Sunderland are dealing with a sizeable injury list that includes key summer signings Younes Kaboul and Fabio Borini.

That’s nothing compared to Bournemouth, whose fine start to the season has been undermined by a full-scale injury crisis. Top scorer Callum Wilson, captain Tommy Elphick and big-money signings Tyrone Mings and Max Gradel are among the wounded at the Premier League’s unluckiest club.

But there is another absence that has proved even more harmful.

Liverpool’s injury list makes grim reading, with Danny Ings and Joe Gomez suffering season-ending knee injuries and captain Jordan Henderson fracturing a metatarsal. But the man the Reds are mourning most is Daniel Sturridge.

In 14 matches this season, on just one solitary occasion have Liverpool managed to score more than one goal in a game. It’s an abject record, particularly for a side with top-four ambitions, put into perspective by the fact that even struggling Chelsea have managed the feat seven times.

The only time Liverpool scored more than once was a 3-2 victory against Villa in September - a match in which Sturridge scored twice. It was one of only three appearances he has been able to make this season.

There are better Premier League players on the treatment table than Sturridge, but the cold, hard statistics tell us that none are missed as much as the Liverpool striker. New Reds manager Jurgen Klopp may look the part, but without his most effective centre-forward he is wearing a suit without any trousers.

Follow @darlingkevin on Twitter

READ MORE VSFQs

No.12: Would it be a ‘blessing in disguise’ for Arsenal to get knocked out of the Champions League?
No.11: How is Jay Bothroyd going to get back into the England squad?
No.10: What would Rodgers be doing today if Gerrard hadn’t fallen over?
No.9: Why can’t Jose Mourinho win in Newcastle?
No.8: Is Claudio Ranieri actually an evil genius masquerading as a doddery simpleton?
No.7: Where is the real Branislav Ivanovic?
No.6: Which team has had the most disastrous Euro 2016 campaign (even worse than Holland and Greece)?
No.5: How many of Chelsea’s 33 on-loan players will ever become Blues first-team regulars?
No.4: Would West Ham getting £6m for Modibo Maiga be the best piece of business in football history?
No.3: When was the last time no English strikers scored on a Premier League weekend?
No.2: What terrible things would happen if Joey Barton, Kevin Nolan and Andy Carroll were reunited?
No.1: How much did Di Maria and Falcao cost Manchester United per bad touch?