ACT flyer Aidan Toua is hopeful his Super Rugby campaign is still alive as the Brumbies count the costs of a injury nightmare in Brisbane and consider resting players in the last game of the season.
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Toua and Kyle Godwin will have scans on Sunday to determine the extent of ankle and knee injuries and if they will play again this year, while Chris Alcock is set to miss at least one game after needing stitches to repair a nasty gash in his thigh.
Lock Rory Arnold's shoulder problem was not thought to be serious, but even so he could be left out of the team to play the Waikato Chiefs next weekend as the Brumbies keep one eye on the finals.
The four injuries were a bigger blow than a 16-15 loss to the Queensland Reds at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.
Coach Stephen Larkham is weighing up the need to build end-of-season momentum for a championship charge and the risk of injury on a trip to Hamilton to play the Chiefs.
The Brumbies have already secured a play-off spot and will host a quarter-final at Canberra Stadium on July 21.
They will play either the Chiefs or Wellington Hurricanes in the first week of the finals regardless of where they finish on the ladder, and that scenario could see the Brumbies rest key players this week.
Toua was hopeful scans would clear him of a serious ankle syndesmosis problem and he would be available to play against either the Chiefs or in the first week of the finals.
"It's hard to tell at the moment, it's still pretty stiff but hopefully it's on the lower end of the spectrum," Toua said.
"It could be season done. But if we get the results back and it looks like it's not too bad, I'll be doing everything I can to be making sure it's just one week if I've got to be out.
"You strap the hell out of it and hope for the best. The result against the Reds wasn't great and we know it doesn't affect anything, but we set out to gain some momentum before the finals.
"We knew what the Reds were going to bring ... it was disappointing but luckily for us we are in the finals and we've got to try to come in with a refreshed attitude."
The Brumbies could test squad depth this week with Larkham set to throw new players into position given it's likely they will play the Chiefs two weeks in a row.
The Chiefs could also rest stars after their All Blacks representatives return after a draining series against the British and Irish Lions, meaning there's little to gain in Hamilton.
Christian Lealiifano was set to play his first game since being diagnosed with leukaemia against the Reds, but was ruled out on the eve of the match because of his hamstring strain.
He could make his comeback against the Chiefs - the team he played for in New Zealand's provincial competition - and Larkham will make a decision on his availability in the coming days.
However, it's unlikely the Brumbies will risk Lealiifano if he is not 100 per cent fit, with Larkham happy to throw the playmaker into a comeback in the quarter final in two weeks.
Injuries meant the Brumbies finished the game against the Reds with flanker Jarrad Butler playing at inside centre and hooker Robbie Abel at flanker.
But Larkham said there were no excuses for failing to close out another close match as the Reds score 10 points in the last eight minutes to snatch victory.
Toua bombed a try in the first half after trying to pick up the ball in slippery conditions, but leaving it behind just one metre from the line.
"We've been working towards the finals ... the beauty is we're prepping for the quarter-final," Larkham said.
"We would have liked to have [beaten the Reds], and the way the game finished was disappointing. But we took some steps towards the quarter-final.
"Little individual things hurst us more than anything else. It really came down to the last five minutes. The big positive is we've still got finals to go."
