Soccer / Football : England : Premier League 2017/2018

Arsene Wenger has announced that he will leave Arsenal at the end of the season, ending his 22-year career as the current longest-serving manager in the Premier League. "After careful consideration and following discussions with the club, I feel it is the right time for me to step down at the end of the season," the 68-year-old said in a statement. Arsenal's majority shareholder, Stan Kroenke, paid tribute to Wenger and hailed his influence on the club as one of the key reasons that he bought into the club in the first place, with the American billionaire admitting that he hopes to build on the Frenchman's legacy.

Watford manager Javi Gracia has revealed the club have been hit by a stomach virus with four players struggling for Saturday's clash with Crystal Palace. Gerard Deulofeu, the forward on loan from Barcelona, and defender Sebastian Prodl have both been absent from training due to the illness sweeping the camp. Gracia refused to reveal the names of the other two players who were affected, but hopes all four will be fit for the visit of Roy Hodgson's side.

Dejan Lovren has handed Liverpool another huge defensive injury boost after returning to training on Thursday. The Croatian centre-back was forced off during Saturday's 3-0 win over Bournemouth after suffering what was described as muscle tightness in his leg.

Lovren's withdrawal was another scare to manager Jurgen Klopp who has seen his defensive options deplete on a weekly basis over the past month. Joe Gomez pulled up with an injury on international duty before Joel Matip's season ended by a ruptured thigh muscle. Ragnar Klavan has also struggled with illness, but Klopp's defensive options have been given a welcome couple of boosts this week. After Gomez made his own return to action on Tuesday, Lovren followed on, training with the rest of his team-mates at Melwood on Thursday.

Chelsea defender Marcos Alonso has been handed a three-match ban following his challenge on Southampton's Shane Long last weekend. The left wing-back appeared to stand on the back of Southampton forward Shane Long's leg during their Premier League game on Saturday and the incident went unpunished by referee Mike Dean. Alonso will now miss Sunday's FA Cup semi-final with the Saints and Premier League games against Burnley and Swansea.

Manchester City and Argentina forward Sergio Aguero is likely not to recover from his knee injury according to an Argentina national team doctor. The striker underwent keyhole surgery on a knee problem which has troubled him for a number of week, having not started a game since March 4. But Argentina doctor Homero D'Agostino predicts a five-week recovery with the World Cup under two months away and expects Aguero to be in a race to regain match fitness ahead of facing Iceland on June 16.

Arsene Wenger has been given some much-needed good news ahead of the most important week of Arsenal's season. Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere and David Ospina are all expected to be fit for the upcoming clashes with Atletico Madrid as well as Man United. While their status for this weekend's London derby with West Ham remains questionable, the trio have returned to training and are in line to face Atletico in just over a week.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan could also be involved for the semifinals or against his former club despite fears that his recent knee injury would cause him to miss the rest of the season. Laurent Koscielny is expected to be rested on Sunday for the visit of the Hammers as the Frenchman continues to deal with a chronic Achilles problem.

Manchester City's top scorer Sergio Aguero is unlikely to play again this season after undergoing a knee operation. Aguero went under the knife on Monday to address cartilage damage. The striker made a return to the City fold during the 3-2 defeat by Manchester United 10 days ago having missed four matches with a knee injury. He felt severe discomfort and claimed he "couldn't run" after a 23-minute substitute appearance in the Champions League against Liverpool three days later. Initial reports suggest that Aguero could be sidelined for up to a month, which would bring his 2017-18 domestic campaign to a close.

Kasper Schmeichel is a huge doubt for Leicester City's game against Southampton. The City goalkeeper picked up an ankle injury during the defeat at Burnley and has been unable to train since. The Denmark international will be assessed to see if he can recover in time for the visit of Saints to the King Power Stadium on Thursday night.

Shinji Okazaki will also need assessing on an ankle injury following the defeat at Burnley. The Japan international was withdrawn at half-time at Turf Moor to be replaced by Kelechi Iheanacho. Daniel Amartey will not be ready in time for the visit of Saints after he returned to training after a hamstring injury.