ACT Brumbies centre McCabe suffered his second neck injury in eight months and was forced to leave the field in the Wallabies' first Test loss to the British and Irish Lions last weekend.

Scans have cleared him of major damage, but he was last night ruled out of the remaining two Tests.

McCabe, 25, broke his neck in a game on the Wallabies' spring tour of Europe last year and contemplated early retirement.

Tallis suffered a career threatening neck injury in 2001 but continued to play in the NRL before succumbing to persistent problems in 2004.

Tallis was reluctant to comment on McCabe's future because he did not know any specific details, but any neck injury puts a chink in a player's armour, he said.

"I believe the day I hurt my neck that I lost some of my armoury," he said. "At some stage in a player's career you have to feel invincible.

''I can't speak for [McCabe] because every neck injury is different, everyone one has different outcomes just like different knee injuries. But while it takes 18 months to get over a knee injury, I don't think you ever get back [to your best] after a neck injury.

"You lose that shield, the armour and the sword you play with. You don't have it, you're not invincible any more.

"Pat's lucky his was C1 vertebra, I had my C4 and C5 fused so he's lucky his wasn't lower. You just don't know with technology these days now, though, and how it can help recovery."

McCabe has endured a horrendous eight months, during which he has suffered a broken neck, a torn hamstring, a busted knee and another neck problem.

Brumbies coach Jake White is unfazed by the "war of attrition" that could strike the squad before the Super Rugby finals begin next month: McCabe hurting his neck in the Test and Christian Lealiifano getting knocked out a minute into his international debut.

Wallabies coach Robbie Deans has added two more Brumbies - Jesse Mogg and George Smith - to the squad after a brutal opening Test in Brisbane. There are now nine Brumbies in camp with the Wallabies, while prop Dan Palmer has had season-ending foot surgery and Nic White and Fotu Auelua are recovering from shoulder injuries.

The Brumbies resume their Super Rugby season with a clash against the Western Force on July 13 before starting finals.

However, White dismissed any potential injuries before then as part of Test rugby.

"I know there are going to be a lot more things that happen between now and the final Test match," White said.

"There's no use jumping up and down in the first one. You have to sit back and see how things unfold in the last one.

''It's going to be a war of attrition in the last two Tests, so you can't predict anything," White said.

Former Brumbies and Wallabies centre Rod Kafer warned that McCabe's confidence would have been dented by the latest injury.

Kafer broke his nose playing for Wests in Canberra in 1993 and the bone went within 2 millimetres of puncturing his brain.

During his career he also suffered a dislocated ankle, a broken ankle, fractured cheek bones and a fractured skull.

"Obviously when you get a few injuries around critical parts of your body [they] can weigh heavily on your mind," he said.

"It does get tough to come back … wanting to play again … there's never any doubt about that. But having the capacity to play at the same level takes time.

"When you add the pressure of a neck injury like Pat's had, it can become a problem and have a psychological impact.

"It comes down to the long-term risk and the desire to go on. It's tough."