It may be tempting but North Queensland coach Neil Henry has resisted fast-tracking comeback plans for recovering Cowboys Cory Paterson and Brent Tate.

Henry admitted he had to get "creative" when naming an extended 18-man squad for Saturday night's home NRL clash with the Warriors due to injury and suspension.

Scan results on Wednesday look set to determine whether centre Antonio Winterstein (pectoral) will be out for either four to six weeks or the rest of the season after going down in last round's 24-4 loss at Manly.

It is a big blow with fellow classy centre Willie Tonga (shoulder) also a long term casualty.

And Henry's mood didn't get any better on Tuesday after second-rower Glenn Hall pleaded guilty to a high tackle charge, ensuring he would miss the Warriors clash.

On paper, Henry has two ready-made replacements - former Test centre Tate and ex-Indigenous All Stars backrower Paterson.

But the Cowboys coach said he would not be putting any pressure on the star duo ahead of the Warriors showdown.

Paterson is at least a fortnight away from playing after undergoing knee surgery following his mid-season transfer from Newcastle.

And Tate is not expected to bounce back from his glittering career's third knee reconstruction for another four weeks.

"With Cory we would be tempted to play him if he was fit but he will be a couple of weeks," Henry said.

"And Brent - he will only come back when he is ready, not when I want him.

"If that is around round 18, that is fine.

"What we need to do is keep winning in the meantime knowing we will get Tate, Tonga and hopefully Winterstein back at the back end of the season."

As a stop-gap measure, Henry had to name utility Ben Jones and backrower Gavin Cooper in the centres for the Warriors game.

"We've had to be a bit creative," he said.

Henry promoted Scott Bolton into the second-row after Hall on Tuesday lodged an early guilty plea to his grade one careless high tackle charge from last Saturday night's loss to Manly at Brookvale Oval, following the Cowboys' decision not to take the case to the NRL judiciary.

He incurred 84 points for the incident involving Glenn Stewart and had 16 carry-over points on his record from earlier in the season.

Henry also included co-captains Matthew Scott and Johnathan Thurston - if they back up from Wednesday night's State of Origin clash at ANZ Stadium.

Will Tupou has been included on a five-man interchange that also includes Joel Riethmuller who made his NRL debut against Manly.

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