Canberra prop Brett White is backing Dane Tilse to make an early return from a rib injury for the Raiders’ NRL clash against North Queensland on Monday, but has doubts about David Shillington’s availability.

Early reports suggested Shillington would miss up to three weeks after coming off the field during the Raiders’ 30-16 win over the Wests Tigers with an abdominal injury.

But after a better-than-expected assessment from Raiders medical staff, the front-rower was named to start for the Raiders when they take on the Cowboys at Canberra Stadium on Monday night.

White indicated there were still doubts about Shillington’s fitness, with a final decision to be made by Sunday.

“We’re not sure (how he’s going), but straight away he said six weeks and then each day it gets a week less,” White said.

“To have him back for the Warriors game (in round six) would be great, but at the same time we don’t want him coming back too early if there’s a chance of reinjuring it.

“He’s probably one of the leading front-rowers in the comp and his workrate shows that.

“He’s a big loss but in saying that, hopefully Tilsey will be right and we get him back.

“We lose one good front-rower and then get another one back hopefully.”

Tilse has been absent for the Raiders since suffering rib cartilage damage against Gold Coast in round two.

Officially, the Raiders have said he’s still a week away.

Meanwhile, fellow forward Josh Papalii will resume full training on Friday ahead of the Cowboys match.

He played through a minor tear to his thigh muscle before coming off at halftime against the Tigers on Monday.

“I recover pretty quickly, so that’s a good advantage,” he said.