By Tim Stannard

1) Bale to undergo ankle op in London 

After Toni Kroos and Luka Modric, another Real Madrid Instagram account is going to be piled with photos of post-op and Rocky-style recovery shots.

This time, they will belong to Gareth Bale. After a day of ponders and deliberations, Real Madrid announced on Thursday that the Welshman is to undergo surgery in London on Tuesday to repair a dislocated ankle tendon suffered during Tuesday's Champions League clash with Sporting CP. And that doesn't sound pleasant at all. 

The Madrid forward is not expected to return to the pitches until February, which will see the player missing out on the Clasico and also the FIFA Club World Cup. 

2) Man United needing regal performance from King Zlatan 

After the Champions League Thanksgiving turkey dinner on Tuesday and Wednesday, it's time for some leftovers which can be just as tasty. The Europa League is back for its fifth match-day with 1095 games across Europe, and into Asia a bit. 

As ever, the big hitters are Manchester United, a team that are needing to beat Fenerbahce in Old Trafford to stay in a contest that they probably want to be kicked out of any way. 

The Week of Zlatan continued with Jose Mourinho revealing before the game that United would love to have the big Swede completing the one-plus-one season deal that he currently has with the English club.

Tune into Thursday's edition of the XTRA for the best Europa League highlights of the day and everything else you could ever want to know - 7PM ET / 4PM PT. 

3) Steven Gerrard announces football retirement

No, it's not the appropriate time for a gag about Steven Gerrard retiring from football when he joined MLS. That's very 2009. 

But the former Liverpool and LA Galaxy man has announced on Thursday that his playing days are properly over and that he will take some time to consider his next move, which is expecting to be coaching or management. 

'Stevie G' played 710 games for Liverpool and won the Champions League in 2006. In a statement, Gerrard said that he listened to advice of peers who told him to "never outstay your welcome."

4) Samuel Eto'o faces prison sentence for tax fraud

It's been far too long. Actually, it's only been a day. That's how long it has been for another Barcelona-player-tax-fraud story to make the headlines. 

The latest is going back into the history books a little with a report from Spain that prosecutors are looking for a 10-year prison sentence for Samuel Eto'o for tax evasion while the Cameroonian forward was with Barcelona between 2006 and 2009. 

5) Brazil close in on Argentina in FIFA rankings push

FIFA rankings are out. And the latest table of wisdom from those Swiss geniuses has struggling Argentina as the best team in the world followed by Brazil, which have moved above Germany after the quite the run of form in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying. 

A sorry spell for the USA sees the side dropping four spots to 28th. Oh dear.