West Brom's international round-up with two debuts and airport...

While things have been quiet at home for the past several weeks, six Baggies have travelled to exciting places across the world.

Before the Championship returns on Saturday, here’s a taste of how each of them fared with their respective countries.

Semi Ajayi

Undoubtedly, Ajayi’s Nigeria had a spectacular break, but not for the Super Eagles’ benefit.

Usually a starter for his country, centre-back Ajayi made a late appearance last Friday in a 1-0 victory over Libya at home.

But it was before the drama. For Tuesday’s away match, the team, players, and staff took a Sunday night flight to

Libya. However, the plane’s destination was changed from Benghazi Airport to Al Abraq Airport, which is almost 200

kilometres and three and a half hours away from the original base.

Players posted updates on social media about their predicament, sleeping on rows of seats, and being detained for

nearly 12 hours. Some even suggested they were without food or water.

After that, Nigeria made the decision to skip their Africa Cup of Nations qualifier and head back home. Nigeria said

that the Libyan Football Federation did not respond to the weary players and officials.

On Tuesday, Ajayi was scheduled to return to England and the Black Country. Carlos Corberan was scheduled to give

a status report on the defender’s health during his news conference on Wednesday.

Mason Holgate

It was a proud few days for on-loan defender Holgate, who is at The Hawthorns for a second spell on loan from

Everton.

Holgate, who turns 28 next week, received a first call-up by Jamaica, whom he qualifies through his grandparents, and has won his first two caps.

He was a substitute in last Thursday’s 2-0 win over Nicaragua before a first start in Tuesday’s goalless draw against

Honduras. Jamaica have qualified for the last eight of the Concacaf Nations League and have booked their spot in

next summer’s Gold Cup in the United States and Canada. Holgate had previously won caps for England’s under-20s

and under-21s.

Torbjorn Heggem

The second Baggie to make his international debut, centre-back Heggem, 25, who has played at left-back so far in his

debut season, earned a first call from Norway.

He was an unused substitute in victory over Slovenia before a first cap from the bench for the last 10 minutes in a 5-1

defeat to Austria.

Heggem said: “It was a good experience for me. Of course, it’s always going to be nice to get called up for the first

time in my career.

“You have several dreams as a footballer and one of them is always to represent your nation – and I was lucky

to get that call and make my debut as well.

“It was a great experience, even though we didn’t get the result we wanted, but to get my first minutes, that alone is a

huge achievement for me.”

He added: “I would love to earn a starting spot next. The coaching staff want me to be there with them next time if

that’s a possibility, and hopefully if that happens I can earn more minutes and hopefully start one day.”

Paddy McNair

Although the 29-year-old loan defender McNair hasn’t played a minute in the league for Albion, he has gained caps

71 and 72 for Northern Ireland in Tuesday’s 5-0 victory over Bulgaria and a 0-0 draw against Belarus, which included

a hat-trick from Isaac Price, the summertime aim of the Baggies.

Mikey Johnston and Jayson Molumby

After watching from the sidelines as Ireland defeated Finland the previous week, midfielder Molumby and winger

Johnston made substitute appearances for the Republic of Ireland in the 2-0 loss in Greece.

West Brom’s international round-up with two debuts and airport drama