The Brumbies' injury-hit squad was dealt another blow on Thursday, Wallabies centre Tevita Kuridrani flying back to Fiji for a family funeral.

Test star Lealiifano is a ready-made replacement in the back line, but the playmaker will instead make his comeback from ankle surgery in a pre-season game for the Tuggeranong Vikings.

Lealiifano will then return to Super Rugby in the Brumbies' clash against the Melbourne Rebels next weekend.

The Brumbies have been forced into four personnel changes and nine positional switches in their game-day 23-man squad for the clash against the Cape Town Stormers at Canberra Stadium on Saturday night.

There are eight Brumbies out of action, including five Test players and Wallabies in waiting Henry Speight and Fotu Auelua.

The Brumbies released Kuridrani, who grew up in the same village as dual-international Lote Tuqiri and Canberra Raiders try-scoring great Noa Nadruku, to return to Fiji to be with his family.

"There's no choice [when family comes first], Tevita's going home to attend a funeral and that's what family does," Brumbies director of rugby Laurie Fisher said.

"No [Lealiifano wasn't an option], he's really just working through his contact progression this week and we'd prefer to give him a hit-out at club level first."

Kuridrani will be back in Canberra next week, but his absence opens the door for Andrew Smith to try to reclaim the No.13 jersey.

Two-game prop Jean-Pierre Smith will be thrust into the front row, Jordan Smiler will earn just his second Super Rugby starting cap and first-gamers Jack Whetton and Stephan van der Walt are on the bench.

The Brumbies have won their past three games and are preparing to face a desperate Stormers line-up, which has won just one of its four games this season.

Wallabies winger Joseph Tomane returns to replace the injured Speight and said the side was keen to get a win to ease Kuridrani's pain.

"It's times like these when you need to get around the boys who are going through some tough times," Tomane said.

"We haven't touched on it as a team for whatever reason. But we definitely have Tevita and his family in our thoughts and prayers and hopefully we can get a 'W' for them."

Fisher backed an injection of new blood and enthusiasm to re-energise the Brumbies after a draining contest against the Waratahs last weekend.

"J.P.Smith has never started a Super Rugby game in his life, so I can't guarantee how he'll go [but] I think he'll go well," Fisher said.

"Jack Whetton has never played a Super Rugby game ... Jordy Smiler has started one Super Rugby game.

"There is an element of unknown. But I have great confidence in the work they've done and the attributes they've got to deliver for the team.

"We've been pretty lucky with injury over the past two years, things have been forced upon us but that's why you have a deep squad ... you get different motivations and level of enthusiasm [with new blood]."

The Brumbies are also without injured superstar David Pocock, Auelua and Clyde Rathbone.

Siliva Siliva and Ruaidhri Murphy return to the bench, while Tomane replaces Speight and Scott Fardy shifts to the second row to replace Leon Power, which moves Smiler into the No.6 jersey.

Whetton is the son of former New Zealand skipper Gary Whetton, while van der Walt is playing his first game in his two seasons with the Brumbies.

The Stormers have only won one game in Canberra in Super Rugby history, keeping the Brumbies' to just three points in their 2011 clash.

Despite boasting Springboks Schalk Burger, Gio Aplon, Jean de Villiers and Peter Grant, the Stormers have won just one of their four games this season.

BRUMBIES TEAM

1. JP Smith, 2. Stephen Moore, 3. Ben Alexander, 4. Scott Fardy, 5. Sam Carter, 6. Jordan Smiler, 7. Jarrad Butler, 8. Ben Mowen, 9. Nic White, 10. Matt Toomua, 11. Robbie Coleman, 12. Pat McCabe, 13. Andrew Smith, 14. Joseph Tomane, 15. Jesse Mogg. Reserves: 16. Siliva Siliva, 17. Ruan Smith, 18. Ruaidhri Murphy, 19. Jack Whetton, 20. Lachlan McCaffrey, 21. Michael Dowsett, 22. Stephan van der Walt, 23. Lionel Cronje.

UNAVAILABLE BRUMBIES

David Pocock - season (knee)

Tevita Kuridrani - Rd 7 v Rebels (family funeral)

Christian Lealiifano - Rd 7 v Rebels (ankle)

Clyde Rathbone - Rd 8 v Blues (hamstring)

Fotu Auelua - Rd 11 v Chiefs (knee)

Henry Speight - Rd 11 v Chiefs (jaw)

Scott Sio - Rd 11 v Chiefs (ankle)

Leon Power - Rd 11 v Chiefs (knee)