Speight and Canberra Vikings teammate Rory Arnold have been called upon to aid the struggling Wallabies ahead of a clash with South Africa.

The Wallabies could also turn to Kyle Godwin, who is set to finalise a deal with the ACT Brumbies as early as Wednesday, as they aim to break their losing streak.

Speight's recall caps off a stunning period where his dreams of an Olympic berth were seemingly shattered by a knee injury that was expected to sideline him for 12 weeks. Seven weeks later he was on a plane to Rio.

And Speight could return to the cauldron of international rugby at Suncorp Stadium this Saturday night.

"Bit of a surprise but that was my ultimate goal, was coming back into NRC and try to get going again," Speight said.

"Really grateful to get this call-up. It's a good group and a tight group that [the Wallabies] have going at the moment and hopefully I blend in."

Speight said the Wallabies are "backed up against the wall" as they sit winless in the Rugby Championship.

"They're down in the dumps at the moment, people are writing us off," Speight said.

"The only way is up from here and we've got the tight group and tight management to do that so I'm looking forward to going into it and doing my bit for the team."

Arnold said while he was surprised to get the call-up so quickly after returning from an elbow injury, he knew he would play for Australia before the year was out.

"Cheika told me before he named the first squad that I would have been there, I was injured so he said he was going to bring me in at a later date," Arnold said.

The Wallabies call-up means Canberra Vikings will need to find replacements for three key players – Speight, Arnold and prop Allan Alaalatoa – after being on the wrong end of a hefty defeat on Sunday.

Captain Jarrad Butler said losing the trio after a loss in which they trailed by 60 points at one stage is no cause for alarm.

"To have them down last week and Henry the week before is invaluable," Butler said.

"We've got so many good guys all over the park at the moment. On the wing [Andrew Robinson], when he came up on the bench last week he had a really good impact there.

"Then in the front row as well we've got lots of talent there. You would rather have [Speight, Arnold and Alaalatoa] there, but to not have them there definitely isn't a loss.

"We've still got lots of guys to fill those positions."

One of those is Robinson, who scored two tries on the wing to add some respectability to Sunday's scoreline against NSW Country.

Robinson hopes Speight's departure opens an opportunity to "really get a foot in the door", but says he will have to work hard to retain a spot.