Rangers star Ianis Hagi’s return to Glasgow following international duty was delayed after the plane he was travelling on struck birds shortly after taking off from Heathrow Airport.
Hagi played the full 90 minutes of Romania’s 0-0 draw with Iceland in Bucharest on Thursday before notching an assist in a 2-0 win over Lichtenstein in Vaduz on Sunday.
Tricolorii finished third in Group J, with Germany qualifying for Qatar 2022 as group winners and North Macedonia securing a playoff spot.
Hagi was making his way back to Glasgow via London on Monday but was affected by an unexpected delay.
His afternoon flight left Heathrow on time but struck a number of parakeets shortly after takeoff.
The pilot opted to return to Heathrow, and after landing, the plane was escorted back to its stand by fire engines and police.
It was initially thought that all passengers and luggage would have to be moved to a new plane, but after extensive checks were carried out by engineers, the original plane was deemed to be serviceable.
After refuelling, it took off from Heathrow once again and landed in Glasgow several hours behind schedule on Monday evening.
Getting back to Scotland certainly wasn’t a smooth process for Hagi, but the 23-year-old still returned before many of his teammates, some of whom will be in action for their respective nations on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, a player who looked to have no future at Ibrox under Gerrard scored on Monday to help secure a World Cup spot for his country.