The country was limiting international arrivals because of Covid but a resourceful travel agent secured her a seat on a last-minute flight.

A week into quarantine in Sydney, she received the final results of the medical tests from the UK. She had Hodgkin lymphoma - a cancer that develops in the lymphatic system, a network of vessels and glands spread throughout the body - and was facing months of gruelling chemotherapy.

Now, a year on from her diagnosis, Stott is in remission and has returned to the pitch as a player for Melbourne City and, with her sights firmly set on a home World Cup in 2023..

After being recalled to the New Zealand squad last week, she told BBC Sport how excited she was to be back playing the sport she loves.

"It feels like I've got my old life back and nothing has really changed," she said.

Stott first noticed something was wrong when she found a lump on her neck in June 2020 - three months before leaving Melbourne City for Brighton in the Women's Super League. She went to her doctor, and had a biopsy, which came back inconclusive.

After being told to keep an eye on it and "not thinking too much of it", she continued with her move to England, going on to make 10 appearances for Brighton.

"I started playing for Brighton but then the lump started to grow and got pretty big, so I thought 'there's something wrong here - I really need to get this checked out and figure out what it is'," recalled Stott.

"I was told they were pretty sure it was lymphoma - they just weren't sure what type it was and what stage it was. As soon as I heard that. I was like 'I need to get home' - 24 hours later, I had packed up my apartment and was on a flight back to Australia."

She turned to the internet to research the illness, discovering that it was curable. After getting her final diagnosis in February 2021 she said she was relieved, as "at least then I knew what it was and I could get through it".

"I had a really good six months with Brighton, I was playing a bit and enjoying it, the team were amazing, so I was pretty gutted to have to leave," she added.

"But my health comes first and it was the best decision to get back to Australia and get the treatment."

First, Stott had IVF, in case her fertility was lost during the treatment, before starting what she was told would be six cycles of chemotherapy.