ANDRE SCHURRLE has revealed he chickened out of Chelsea and the Premier League.

But Fulham’s on-loan forward did not lack the guts to fight for his place at Stamford Bridge under Jose Mourinho.

6 Food poisoning helped speed up the exit of Andre Schurrle from Chelsea but he is now back in the Premier League with Fulham Credit: Reuters

It was food poisoning from eating dodgy chicken on international duty that hastened the end of his first spell in England.

The Borussia Dortmund star, 28, fell sick after a trip with Germany three months after playing a key role in their 2014 World Cup triumph.

Ahead of a return to the Blues today, Schurrle said: “It was a bit of chicken and I’ve never eaten chicken since.

“It was only me. It was an away game in Poland.

“You see how skinny I am so to lose three, four, five kilos it took me a really long time to get my strength back.

Sky Sports has more than 40 live matches on over the festive period - Sky Sports

6 Andre Schurrle spent two years at Stamford Bridge before returning to Germany in 2015 - with Wolfsburg Credit: Getty Images - Getty

6 Germany frontman Andre Schurrle has seen Fulham slump in recent weeks but is happy to be back in the Premier League Credit: PA:Empics Sport

"I was being sick and really feeling like I can’t get out of bed. We found out it was salmonella.”

After a promising first season at Chelsea, Schurrle fell down the pecking order behind Eden Hazard and Willian.

He said: “I had quite good stats, important goals and confidence from the manager too.

“It was amazing but the second year it was just very difficult. I had bad salmonella, got really weak and coming back never got the chance to prove myself.

“That was when I got the opportunity to go back to Germany and he let me go.”

Schurrle is now vegetarian — “pretty much vegan” — but his time at Chelsea did not leave a bad taste in the mouth.

6 Fulham loanee Andre Schurrle has roared back after suffering some serious food poisoning with Chelsea Credit: Getty Images - Getty

He and Mourinho remained on good terms after his move to Wolfsburg in February 2015, and in the following months he received two unexpected texts from the Portuguese.

Schurrle said: “He texted the day after the League Cup to say ‘Congratulations, League Cup winner!’

“Then he texted me after they won the title and said ‘Congratulations, champion of England! Please come to the ceremony — we are having a party with all the guys.’

6 Andre Schurrle says he still gets on well with his and Chelsea's former boss Jose Mourinho Credit: Getty Images - Getty

“It was a nice gesture and if I would have had the time I would have come for sure.

“It is weird. Not being there and then getting the medal, you feel like part of the team but not the biggest part because you left at half-time and the team did the rest.

“I probably don’t have the same feeling as the guys that were there the whole season.”

Schurrle is backing the Special One to turn things round at Manchester United.

6 Ex-Chelsea wideman Andre Schurrle, back in London with Fulham, says he is now almost a vegan Credit: Getty Images - Getty

He said: “I hope so and I think so because he is a great manager and has a lot of experience and knows what he needs to do to be successful. And that’s what he’s shown in every club so I think he will be good.”

But Schurrle’s primary concern is to help Fulham escape the problems which made them the first Premier League club to sack their manager this season.

Former Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri has replaced Slavisa Jokanovic and the Italian’s reign began with a much-needed 3-2 win over fellow strugglers Southampton last weekend.

Premier League matchweek 14 preview including Arsenal v Tottenham and Liverpool v Everton

So Schurrle and Ranieri will go into today’s match against their former club on a high.

Schurrle said: “Last weekend was massive, it was a huge win for us.

“You guys can imagine coming off this long streak of not winning, even if you are losing every game, it is so important to bounce back and get that win.

“And to get that little bit of confidence and get that smile on your face. Football is sometimes crazy, then you change the manager — which is not easy for the club and the players because as a player you feel you have let somebody down.

“It is easy to understand as a player as well that when a manager was there and a lot of players didn’t play so much, they know that maybe they won’t play the next game as well. So in training it can be a little bit slower.

“The new manager comes in and everyone is more focused and wants to give more because they want to show themselves.

“Then the work was really good, the training was really good, and we got the result at the weekend.”

It is now up to Schurrle and his team-mates to show they also have the stomach for the battles to come.