The Wellington Phoenix are sweating on the fitness of striker David Ball after the Englishman left the field with a hip injury during a 2-1 win over the Central Coast Mariners.
Ball set up Gary Hooper's 13th-minute opener and scored one himself before leaving the field early in the second half with his injury.
The 30-year-old's influential performance helped the Phoenix extend their unbeaten run to eight games, which sees them sit fourth in the A-League standings.
Ball was arguably the Phoenix's best player on the field before he came off, and is in doubt for next Saturday's clash with Western Sydney Wanderers.
"It's too early to make a call but we'll find out in the next 48 hours where he stands," coach Ufuk Talay said on Ball's injury.
"David Ball I think was exceptional, it was one of those things where I think he felt his hip flexor and it was a change I didn't want to make but at times it happens in the game."
Talay admits they were far from perfect against the Mariners but was pleased to claim all three points and stay in touch with the league leaders.
"At the end of the day I'm happy about the three points but I wasn't pleased about the second half," Talay said.
"I think Ball coming off injured changed a few things for us. That wasn't in the game plan, but we adapted to it.
"We weren't great in the second half but we were good enough to keep them out and get the three points."
