The wounds may have been mostly self-inflicted, but Chelsea have been battered and bruised so much this season that most of their everyday setbacks now appear relatively minor. It is becoming easier to roll with the punches than to bite back, which perhaps explains the air of serenity around John Terry's absence from the team that will face Paris Saint-Germain at Parc des Princes on Tuesday night.
The captain's hamstring injury means both he and the suspended Nemanja Matic will miss out but Chelsea, who are likely to partner Branislav Ivanovic with Gary Cahill at the back, exude a calmness these days that verges on the disarming.