Canada coach Jon Cooper: Sidney Crosby not ruled out of Olympics

Coach Jon Cooper told reporters Thursday that the Canadian men’s hockey team’s captain has not been ruled out for the tournament after suffering a lower-body injury in Wednesday’s Olympic quarterfinal against Czechia.

Crosby was scheduled to have an MRI to determine the severity of the injury he suffered, Elliotte Friedman reported on the CBC Olympics broadcast on Wednesday.

Crosby hobbled off the ice in the second period after he was crunched along the boards in the neutral zone by Czech defenceman Radko Gudas at centre ice and took another awkward hit along the boards later in the same shift.

After chatting with a team doctor on the bench, Crosby made his way down the tunnel toward the dressing room with an apparent limp.

Crosby, the 2010 Olympic hero, had enjoyed a strong round-robin in Milan with two goals and four assists in three games.

Cooper also said defenceman Josh Morrissey, who has missed the past three games, has not been ruled out.

Meanwhile, forward Sam Bennett told reporters he was battling an illness. He did not play in the quarterfinal, but says he’ll be good to go for the games ahead.

Canada will face Finland in a semifinal on Friday (10:40 a.m. ET / 7:40 a.m. PT, CBC Gem, Sportsnet+).

The bronze-medal game is Saturday and the gold-medal game is Sunday.