Midfielder Alyssa Whinham has sent a scare through the Wellington Phoenix camp, after collapsing from heat exhaustion against Melbourne Victory at Epping.
With temperatures soaring to 33 degrees during the match, Whinham fell to the ground early in the second half, prompting a concerned referee to stop play.
She could barely walk as she was eventually helped from the field.
The A-League did follow its 'heat policy' guidelines, allowing a drinks break in each half.
Whinham, 19, has travelled back to New Zealand with the rest of the team, but will take some time to recover.
"She's okay," said coach Natalie Lawrence. "She was struggling with the heat - it wasn't a concussion or anything to do with her head.
"We were about to bring her off when it got a little bit too much for her. She went in [the changing room] and cooled herself down, and feels much better now.
"We spent all of last season in Australia and it was definitely one of our hottest games today, so it's something for us to get used to on this side of the Tasman.
"We're not going to use it as an excuse. We played through it all last year, so we'll just have to make sure everyone is hydrated."
The Phoenix fell 1-0 to the defending Women's A-League champions and are currently winless after three rounds of the competition, with a visit to Canberra United looming on Saturday.
