Henrikh Mkhitaryan has travelled with Manchester United for their League Cup quarter-final against Bristol City, as he bids to save his Old Trafford career.
The Armenian was joined on the plane on Wednesday morning by French ace Paul Pogba - back from suspension after a three-match ban.
United had planned on flying directly to Bristol, a 140-mile trip, but saw plans disrupted by fog over Bristol.
Those poor conditions meant Jose Mourinho's men had to divert to Cardiff, more than 40 miles from their intended destination.
Airline tracking website Flightradar showed the plane circling Bristol numerous times, before, unable to land, heading across the Welsh border.
United then travelled via coach to their Bristol hotel, arriving mid-afternoon.
Mkhitaryan, 28, has been out of favour with Mourinho recently, not making the bench for eight of United's last nine games.
It is believed to have followed a row between the pair during a team meeting, and his absence has led to speculation that he could seen depart, with both Inter Milan and former side Borussia Dortmund reportedly interested.
Nonetheless, Mourinho has insisted that Mkhitaryan remains in his thoughts, but says competition for places is fierce and that others have simply been more deserving of late.
"We need to take the game really seriously but I'm going to make a few changes and it's possible Miki is involved.
"In this moment we are playing with Mata, Lingard, Rashford or Martial and Lukaku, and the bench has been Ibra and one of the other ones - Martial or Rashford. There is no space for everybody because you need balance on the bench too."
Pogba looks set to return for the holders, while youngster Axel Tuanzebe could also feature; he has made just one start this term, in the win over Swansea in the previous round.
David de Gea, Ashley Young, Nemanja Matic and Phil Jones have all been rested, while Antonio Valencia is absent through injury. None travelled from Manchester Airport with the rest of the squad, with Mourinho keen not to make wholesale changes.
Young keeper Kieran O'Hara, fresh from signing a new contract with the club, has travelled as the third keeper, alongside Sergio Romero and Joel Pereira.
Mourinho views Lee Johnson's Robins, currently third in the Championship, as potentially tricky opposition and does not want to take chances.
The Portuguese said: "I'm making a few changes for the match, not many, because Bristol City are one of the best teams in the Championship.
"And for me now, the Championship is not the Championship any more of five, 10 years ago. The Championship is now high-quality teams with lots of high-quality players that could be playing in the Premier League easily."
Man United squad:Sergio Romero, Joel Pereira, Kieran O'Hara; Matteo Darmian, Victor Lindelof, Chris Smalling, Marcos Rojo, Axel Tuanzebe, Daley Blind, Luke Shaw, Scott McTominay, Paul Pogba, Ander Herrera, Jesse Lingard, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Juan Mata, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Romelu Lukaku, Zlatan Ibrahimovic