Martin Guptill is in a race against time to be fit for the Blackcaps limited-overs tour of Australia next month.
The white-ball specialist has been a fixture in New Zealand's ODI and T20 squads for more than a decade and will be a key addition to the side that will be missing all of its test stars for the trip to Australia.
The Blackcaps play three ODI's and a sole T20 across the Tasman minus red-ball internationals who will be back at home preparing for the test series against South Africa.
But Guptill left the field injured during Auckland Aces' Ford Trophy defeat at the hands of Wellington on Monday with an apparent calf injury and will have scans on Tuesday to confirm the prognosis.
The injury occurred while Guptill was batting and he immediately signaled for medical assistance and left the game, never to return and was later seen on crutches.
Guptill's mishap will raise alarms in the Blackcaps camp, who leave for Australia in just three weeks.
Retiring veteran Ross Taylor will be part of the squad in his trans-Tasman swansong while fringe players including Finn Allen, Glenn Phillips, Colin de Grandhomme, Todd Astle and Tim Seifert are likely to join him with test stars missing.
In Guptill's absence, the Aces struggled to post a competitive score against the Firebirds, dismissed for 202 inside their 50 overs, with Wellington chasing down the target with ease.
New Zealand kicks off its short tour of Australia with an ODI in Perth on January 30, before games in Hobart and Sydney with the single T20 international to be played at Manuka Oval in Canberra on February 8.
