Ice hockey-Too soon to say whether injured Crosby will play for gold medal, Canada coach says

MILAN, Feb 20 : It's too soon to say whether injured captain Sidney Crosby will play in Canada's Olympic gold-medal game, coach Jon Cooper said on Friday, after he sat out their semi-final game against Finland.

Crosby left Wednesday's quarter-final game against the Czech Republic injured and Connor McDavid served as captain in Friday's game, a thrilling 3-2 come-from-behind win over the defending champions.

"We have 48 hours to decide (if he will play)," said Cooper. "But I will tell you, he's got a better chance of playing in the gold-medal game than he had of playing in tonight's game."

The 38-year-old future Hall of Famer and longtime Pittsburgh Penguins star is regarded as a national hero by Canadians, who brought energy to Santagiulia Arena long before puck drop as they partied outside the built-from-scratch venue in Milan.

Crosby etched some of Canada's greatest Olympic moments as he picked up gold medals in 2010 and 2014, scoring the overtime goal that secured gold on home ice in Vancouver in 2010.

"We have the belief that if he's able to play, he's going to," said forward Sam Reinhart. "Obviously, time will tell."