Rory McArdle hopes his 6,100-mile round trip to Baku will not be for nothing tonight.

The City defender is in the Northern Ireland squad in Azerbaijan for their latest World Cup qualifier, forcing him to miss the Valley Parade clash with Tranmere on Sunday.

McArdle’s last international appearance was 17 months ago in Holland, the week before he signed for the Bantams. He was an unused sub in the most recent games against Portugal and Luxembourg.

That humiliating 3-2 defeat could open the door for the centre half to earn a sixth cap after replacing groin injury victim Aaron Hughes.

Under-pressure boss Michael O’Neill said: “There will be changes to the team, not just because of the loss in Luxembourg but some players have not played as much football as we would have liked.”

After 13 hours in the air from Belfast and back, McArdle and Northern Ireland are back on the plane for Tel Aviv for their final qualifier against Israel on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, City defender Carl McHugh is also on his international travels with the Republic of Ireland Under-21s in Romania.