Leicester City latest: Jamie Vardy update, Shinji Okazaki news, pundit's Foxes warning | OneFootball

Leicester City switch their attention to the FA Cup this evening, as Enzo Maresca takes his side to the South Coast to take on Premier League outfit AFC Bournemouth.

The cup competition will provide the Italian with somewhat of a distraction from their relentless Championship schedule, which has seen them suffer defeat at the hands of Middlesbrough and Leeds United for the second time this season.

Friday night's defeat at Elland Road also saw the gap at the top of the second tier table narrow to just six points, with Ipswich also joining Leeds on 72 points.

However, with the clash at the Vitality Stadium looming closer, Football League World rounds up the latest news regarding the Foxes.

Maresca to make changes against the Cherries

With just 12 games left of the second tier campaign, it's clear what Maresca's main focus is for the remainder of the season.

In their previous FA Cup victories against Millwall and Birmingham City, Leicester made seven and ten changes to the side in those cup outings, and the Foxes head coach has already set out his intentions for the starting XI this evening.

“It’s always a good opportunity to play these types of games, but in the same time, we are going to make many changes as we have done in the past," he told official club channels.

“We will make eight or nine changes as we have players that deserve the chance, but we will still prepare for the game in the best way we can to win.

He concluded: “Going into the quarter-finals could be very important for us, which is why we’ll prepare for it in such a way that we want to win, but they will be in the same situation.”

Jamie Vardy injury update issued

One man who scored in the Fourth Round win over Birmingham was Jamie Vardy, who was a key figure in the Foxes' success in this competition three years ago, when they defeated Chelsea 1-0 at Wembley in May 2021.

At present, Vardy is sidelined with a groin problem which saw him absent from the squad at Elland Road. In his pre-match press conference, Maresca issued the latest update on his potential return to the side.

“Jamie’s injured. Wilf’s (Ndidi) still injured. Kasey (McAteer) is not injured but almost, he has some problems and we don’t know if he’s available for tomorrow," he stated via Leicestershire Live.

“They said to me (on Vardy) it could be one week, 10 days, two weeks. More or less, it’s about 10 or 15 days hopefully.”

Pundit issues Leicester City warning as Leeds and Ipswich narrow gap

Reverting to their Championship exploits, and former England international Carlton Palmer has issued a warning to the Foxes, as he believes his Leeds and Ipswich could still make it a three-way title race based on current form.

"Honestly, if you had asked me this question five games ago - will anyone stop Leicester winning the title - I'd have said absolutely not," he exclusively told FLW.

"But Leeds United and Ipswich Town? They're setting such a pace, these two teams. Leeds have six wins on the bounce, and Ipswich four on the bounce, after struggling a bit before that," he added.

"They're on 72 points each, six points behind Leicester and Leicester have lost their last two games to Middlesbrough, and of course, Leeds.

"It's possible that one or both could catch Leicester, so it's going to be interesting to see.

He concluded: "Leicester will need to pick up. They've got a massive FA Cup game coming up on Tuesday, but then difficult games after that.

After tonight's FA Cup encounter, Leicester return to league action at home to relegation-threatened Queens Park Rangers at the King Power Stadium, before consecutive away trips to Sunderland and Hull City.

Shinji Okazaki announces retirement

Rounding off proceedings is the news that former Leicester forward Shinji Okazaki has announced his retirement from football at the age of 37.

The Japanese centre-forward moved to the East Midlands from Bundesliga outfit Mainz for an estimated £7m fee back in June 2015.

Unbeknownst to anyone in world football at the time, Okazaki would play an underrated role in Leicester's "5000-1" Premier League winning season just 11 months later, as he netted 5 times in 36 league appearances.

Overall, he would feature 137 times for the club and net 19 goals before leaving the club at the end of the 2018/19 campaign.

He then went on to play for S.D. Huesca and Cartegena in Spain, before moving on to current employers Sint-Truiden of the Belgian Pro League.

Okazaki has revealed his reasons for retirement at the end of the current campaign via the Daily Mirror.

"I have a report for you all. I have decided to retire after this season. He had been doing his best as a soccer player, but when he realized that his body was falling apart, he naturally felt that he had reached his limits," he stated.

"I feel that it was fate that I came to this club and that I decided to retire at this club. I hope we can talk about retirement again once the season is over. I will do my best to contribute to the team while aiming to return until the end of the season.