North Queensland will be without Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow for two-to-three weeks after he suffered a PCL tear in their loss to the Sydney Roosters.
The 20-year-old went for scans on Sunday coach Todd Payten said, with the results confirming he suffered a tear during Saturday night's 28-4 defeat.
It's a hammer blow for the fullback in his first year in the Cowboys' number one jersey, as his transition to the back of the field late last season was disrupted by emergency appendix surgery.
Valentine Holmes (centre) and Scott Drinkwater shape as the plausible replacements for their clash with the Warriors on Friday in Redcliffe, with utilities Brendan Elliot and Connelly Lemuelu waiting in the wings to cover in the centres.
Meanwhile, in good news for the Cowboys, young-gun Jeremiah Nanai has inked a one-year extension with the club to remain through the 2023 season.
The 19-year-old is a product of the Cowboys Cairns Academy and has starred since his debut in 2021.
With just eight NRL appearances to his name, Nanai has emerged as one of the most sought-after young forwards in the competition after scoring a hat-trick against rivals Brisbane in round three.
The New Zealand-born but Cairns-raised forward has also committed to Queensland and Australia at representative level.
"We are over the moon to be able to announce the extension of Jeremiah's contract," Cowboys general manager of football Michael Luck said.
"As we've seen in the first eight games of his career, he is one of the most exciting talents in rugby league.
"We are thrilled to finalise the extension, which allows Jeremiah to concentrate solely on what is his first full season in the NRL and we will pick up long-term contract discussions later in the year."
