Andre Schurrle Illness: Updates on Chelsea Star's Status and Return

Updates from Sunday, Oct. 26

Andre Schurrle was named to the substitutes bench for Sunday's clash with Manchester United:

Updates from Monday, Oct. 20

Andre Schurrle will once again be absent as Chelsea face Maribor in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Jose Mourinho confirmed the news:

Updates from Friday, Oct. 17

Andre Schurrle remains a doubt for Chelsea as they prepare to visit Crystal Palace this weekend.

Jose Mourinho reported the news, via Chelsea's official Twitter:

Original Text

Chelsea attacker Andre Schurrle has pulled out of Germany's squad for their match against the Republic of Ireland on Tuesday night.

The national team confirmed the player's withdrawal via Twitter and released a short statement on its official website, saying: "Andre Schurrle has caught a cold and will not be available for the game against Republic of Ireland tonight."

Frank Augstein/Associated Press

Schurrle had a hugely successful summer at the World Cup in Brazil, with the player contributing strongly to Germany's victorious effort.

He has continued his form into the new domestic season for Chelsea. Despite featuring mainly from the bench, Schurrle has two goals from his six appearances.

Jose Mourinho will be hoping that the German recovers quickly from his illness in order to be available for the league match against Crystal Palace on Saturday and the next round of their Champions League campaign against Maribor three days later.

Chelsea are on a fantastic run of form and have streaked away at the top of the Premier League.

Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press

The strings are very much being pulled by Cesc Fabregas for the Blues, but Schurrle is an auxiliary goal threat that the Special One relies upon. 

Schurrle has a proven pedigree in England now, and despite being surrounded by superstar names in the German squad, he has shown he can compete with his world-class team-mates. 

And his club captain, John Terry, recently singled Schurrle out for praise, highlighting the player's defensive contributions with Eden Hazard, per Jochan Embley of the London Evening Standard: "We have had a few clean sheets on the bounce, defensively we have been doing very well, not just the back four, but it’s also people like Eden [Hazard], Andre [Schurrle] coming back and able to go forward as well."

However, Schurrle's possible absence could be a huge opportunity for Mohamed Salah, who has struggled for game time since his arrival at Stamford Bridge.

Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

The Egyptian has accrued just 13 minutes of playing time this season, and he has not been given a real chance to stake a claim in London since his arrival from Basel.

The 22-year-old has a long-term deal with Chelsea, but he will need to displace Schurrle from his role if he wants to feature.

Schurrle himself has recently spoken about what he needs to do to break into Mourinho's first eleven, per Ben Jefferson of the Daily Express.

Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

The player says his coach believes he must become stronger and more aggressive if he is to become a world-class footballer:

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Jose Mourinho has taught me a different style of play and a different way of thinking to reach the world-class level someday. To him, finishing second is a failure. He doesn't know the word 'losing.' That's how he holds his talk before the matches. His thinking is impressive - as impressive as the way he gets his message across.

He challenges you to be robust on the pitch, to play like a man. That sometimes means committing a foul. I feel much better since joining Chelsea and I have become much more confident.

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Schurrle will be needed by Chelsea in the coming weeks, and he will surely recover quickly from his illness. He has grown during his time with the Blues, and working under Mourinho has made him an all-round better player. 

Despite being behind the likes of Hazard and Co., Schurrle will feature prominently for the Stamford Bridge club this year, playing the role of super-sub from the bench.

Stats via Squawka unless otherwise noted.