The Brumbies co-captain will be rested for at least one week, ruled out of the clash against the Argentina Jaguares at Canberra Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

It will be the first game Lealiifano has missed this season after recovering from leukaemia and following a 16-game playing stint in Ireland at the end of last year.

Coach Dan McKellar will monitor Lealiifano's training load next week before deciding if he will play against the Canterbury Crusaders or be given another week to recharge.

"We'll take it week by week. It's not a long-term thing by any means," McKellar said.

"Christian had a long stint with Ulster, played 16 games and then straight back into Super Rugby. I'd always planned to give him a spell at some point, just a re-gen period for Christian.

"It will just be this week and then we'll see. It may be a couple of weeks. I thought now was the right time.

"I just want to freshen him up ...  a week or two with [athletic performance director] Ben Serpell will do him the world of good and finish the season well."

Lealiifano's absence opens the door for Kyle Godwin to return to the starting side for the first time since signing a deal to move to Ireland at the end of the season.

Godwin will slot into the inside centre role he occupied for most of last year and renew his partnership with flyhalf Wharenui Hawera.

Godwin's return is one of four changes to the starting XV, with Joe Powell being recalled to scrumhalf, Henry Speight recovering from a knee injury and Sam Carter in the second row to captain the side.

"Obviously Christian is having a spell, but the other thing is the belief and confidence we have in the boys that will do the job without him there," McKellar said.

"[Hawera] has been playing well and Kyle was excellent at the start of the year. We made a change from a team point of view and he's shown some good signs off the bench.

"It's exciting what those two can do this week. Every opportunity is a chance [to cement a spot], this is a chance to push his claims to stay there for the remainder of the year."

David Pocock has been cleared of a calf injury and will continue his Australian rugby resurgence, while skipper Carter is back in the starting side for the first time in five weeks.

Rookie lock Darcy Swain will make his debut from the bench in a major reserves reshuffle. Mees Erasmus and Nic Mayhew will be the back-up props, while Jordan Jackson-Hope gets his first chance of the year.

Former Australian under-20s second-rower Swain has been called on to the bench at the expense of Blake Enever and Richie Arnold, who are both managing niggling injuries.

The Brumbies have won three of their seven games so far and need to beat the Jaguares to stay in touch with the Australian conference leaders.

The club hasn't won back to back games at home since 2016, but can end the inconsistent run if they beat the Jaguares in what will be Speight's 100th game.

Asked what the Brumbies were expecting against the Jaguares, Speight said: "Anything and everything really.

"They play with a lot of flair and they're really strong up front. We're expecting a tough battle from the forward pack and hopefully our forwards are up to the challenge.

"If we can weather the storm, hopefully we can take our game to them and the result will take care of itself."

SUPER RUGBY ROUND 10

Sunday: ACT Brumbies v Argentina Jaguares at Canberra Stadium, 4.05pm. Tickets from Ticketek.

Brumbies: 15. Tom Banks, 14. Henry Speight, 13. Tevita Kuridrani, 12. Kyle Godwin, 11. Chance Peni, 10. Wharenui Hawera, 9. Joe Powell, 8. Isi Naisarani, 7. David Pocock, 6. Tom Cusack, 5. Sam Carter, 4. Rory Arnold, 3. Allan Alaalatoa, 2. Folau Faingaa, 1. Scott Sio. Reserves: 16. Robbie Abel, 17. Mees Erasmus, 18. Nic Mayhew, 19. Darcy Swain, 20. Michael Oakman-Hunt, 21. Matt Lucas, 22. Jordan Jackson-Hope, 23. Andrew Smith.

Jaguares: 15. Joaquin Tuculet, 14. Ramiro Moyano, 13. Matias Orlando, 12. Jeronimo De La Fuente, 11. Emiliano Boffelli, 10. Nicolas Sanchez, 9. Gonzalo Bertranou, 8. Javier Ortega Desio, 7. Marcos Kremer, 6. Pablo Matera, 5. Tomas Lavanini, 4. Guido Petti, 3. Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 2. Agustin Creevy, 1. Santiago Garcia Botta. Reserves: 16. Julian Montoya, 17. Javier Diaz, 18. Juan Pablo Zeiss, 19. Matias Alemanno, 20. Leonardo Senatore, 21. Martin Landajo, 22. Bautista Ezcurra, 23. Bautista Delguy.