Nick Phipps was shocked and pleasantly surprised to get a call-up to the preliminary Wallabies squad, but his promotion has also opened a door of opportunity for rival halfback Luke Burgess.

With Phipps unavailable, the Rebels can now give 2014 signing Luke Burgess a run off the bench in Friday’s clash with Australian Super rugby conference leaders the Brumbies in Canberra.

Burgess, who has just returned from a two-year stint in France, could line up directly at some stage on Brumbies halfback Nic White, another contender for a Wallaby squad spot.

Uncapped White will train with the Wallabies on Tuesday when he has a day off from the Canberra-based franchise.

Burgess will have the chance to stake his claim in front of national coach Robbie Deans, who will attend Friday’s game.

Burgess was keen to add to his 37 Test caps and have a crack at the British and Irish Lions.

“Everyone should be jumping on the back of this opportunity, once in every 12 years to play the Lions,” Burgess said.

“You can’t miss those opportunities in your career. For me it’s just a massive carrot.”

Phipps, who will move to the Waratahs next season and started several Tests last year when Will Genia was injured, initially feared the worst when he saw a missed call from Deans on his phone on Sunday.

“I thought it was something about selection, my first instincts was maybe it was a bit of bad news, but I was really surprised to get the thumbs up,” Phipps said.

Asked if he was surprised that Genia was the only halfback named in the original squad, Phipps said: “Yeah, I can obviously think that.

“But at the end of the day, I’m not making the decisions, that’s up to the coaching staff.”

While Genia was the only halfback named in the original 25-man preliminary squad, Deans said there was still a chance there could be three in the final party.

Phipps was one of three players added to the squad on Sunday following injuries over the weekend to Rebels back rower Scott Higginbotham and Waratahs lock Sitaleki Timani.

Higginbotham flew to Brisbane after having a scan on his dislocated shoulder on Monday and his injury will be reassessed over the next couple of days.

Lock Timani saw a specialist on Monday about a possible broken thumb, which if confirmed would likely rule him out of the Lions series if it requires surgery.

Several players didn’t train on Monday because of minor niggles with the list containing forwards Wycliff Palu, Dave Dennis and James Slipper and winger Nick Cummins.

Back Kurtley Beale trained with the team on Monday but wore different gear as he is not part of the official squad.