There has been plenty of talk about why the Cats have lost their past two matches.

There are numerous reasons, of course, but the loss of Josh Caddy to a knee injury is certainly one of them.

The 23-year-old was in great form before he suffered a medial ligament strain late in the win over the Western Bulldogs in round 13.

He was averaging 21 disposals per game and had kicked 13 goals, including a haul of three in the victory over Hawthorn in round one.

Indeed, Caddy's stats across the 13 games he has played so far in 2016 make for impressive reading.

* He is ranked third among Geelong players for average contested possessions per game (9.7).

* He is equal-third among Geelong players for average clearances per game (3.1).

* He is equal-sixth among Geelong players for average tackles (4.4).

* He is equal-fifth on Geelong's goalkicking table with 13.

* And he is equal-fifth among Geelong players for average inside-50s per game (3.3).

So it's perhaps no surprise that some of the Cats' key statistical categories have gone south since Caddy was injured.

In Caddy's first game on the sidelines, which was the clash with St Kilda in round 14, Geelong lost the inside-50 count, the tackle-count and had less clearances than the Saints.

Most importantly, the Cats lost the game by three points.

Last weekend, Geelong narrowly lost the clearance-count, the contested possession-count and the tackle-count to the Swans.

And the scoreboard told a disappointing tale, as the Cats finished with just nine goals to their name.

It seems Caddy's return, which will happen within the next month, can't come quickly enough.