A positive report on a injury to playmaker Stephen Larkham provided a rare shaft of light in an otherwise dark weekend for the ACT Brumbies as the defending Super 12 rugby champion crashed out of the top four.

Brumbies officials initially feared five-eighth Larkham broke an arm in the early stages of Saturday's 17-0 loss to the Blues in Auckland.

They were already resigned to losing winger Clyde Rathbone and prop Guy Shepherdson for four to six weeks with a knee and ankle injury respectively.

An initial x-ray of Larkham's arm revealed no break, but he underwent a scan after still feeling pain in the afflicted area.

"It (the scan) didn't reveal any break, so he's a big chance to play this weekend," a Brumbies spokesperson said.

"He's got some bruising around the arm which is causing some pain, but they will look at him throughout the week."

Wallabies stalwart Larkham lasted less than 25 minutes of last night's game which was his first in three weeks after he underwent surgery to remove a melanoma from the back of his left leg.

Adding insult to the seemingly never ending list of Brumbies injuries in 2005, reserve hooker David Palavi was cited for a dangerous tackle on Blues flanker Daniel Braid in the second half of Saturday's game.

Palavi and Brumbies manager Ray McNicol will attend a hearing in Wellington on Monday night.

The Brumbies called up three more players to cover the loss of Shepherdson, Rathbone and potentially Palavi.

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