It is often overlooked that some points or packets of energy will travel in time alone [along with us], for example the four forces attempt to be entirely time based, their 'energy' is occasionally hidden that way, we often see this energy in quantum fields, that 'appear' to have no motion, they have but none in the first three dimensions, it is part of how FTL gravitational exchange makes itself present in our SoL world.
In QFT, the replacement of 'virtual particles' with either particles that are time alone based or FTL phenomena produces further answers and yet does not disturb the theory or the results that have come from it.
In fact to date I know of not a single 'virtual photon' or similar account of action or actions that cannot be adequately or more correctly attributed to the two instances above.