Sidney Crosby "day-to-day" after Olympic injury, Penguins express support for their captain

After Sidney Crosby left Team Canada's win over Czechia with a lower-body injury, his status for both the rest of the Olympics and the remainder of the Penguins' season was up in the air. 

As Team Canada skated to a 4-3 overtime victory against Czechia on Wednesday, they did so without Crosby, as he exited the game in the second period and did not return. 

Following the team's victory, Canada head coach Jon Cooper said he was unaware of the severity of the injury, while ESPN's Emily Kaplan reported that Crosby would undergo imaging to determine the severity. 

On Thursday morning in Milan, Team Canada took the ice for practice, and Sidney Crosby was once again absent. 

Cooper provided an update saying that Crosby was "by no means ruled out of the tournament," and that the team is "taking this day-by-day." 

Cooper did not specify the injury or its severity. 

Penguins players, staff react to Crosby's injury

The Penguins players who are not at the Olympics were back at practice, and one of the team's long-time members, Bryan Rust, who plays on a line with Crosby, said that while the injury is unfortunate, it's a risk hockey players take. 

"You can get injured in practice," Rust said. "[Alexander] Barkov got injured in practice, [Kevin Hayes] got injured in practice, I mean, things can happen in all sorts of places. With the way these practices are now, with how intense they are across the league, somebody might get injured. I don't think guys in this league are too worried about that. The opportunity to represent your country at the highest level, I think, guys are more than willing to accept that risk." 

For Penguins head coach Dan Muse, he learned of Crosby's injury almost instantly after leaving the ice after practice. 

"It's the Olympics, any time these guys get an opportunity to represent their countries, I'm happy for them," Muse said. 

Crosby injured after a check from a Czech defenseman 

With Canada trailing 2-1 in the second period, Crosby took multiple hits during a shift, including one from defenseman Radko Gudas, that led to him leaving the ice in pain. 

After the hit, Crosby favored his right leg, spent a few minutes on the bench speaking with Team Canada's training staff, before leaving the ice and heading to the locker room. 

Canada ultimately rallied to defeat Czechia in overtime thanks to goals from Nathan MacKinnon, Nick Suzuki, and Mitch Marner. 

They will take on Finland in the semifinals of the men's tournament on Friday morning at 10:30 a.m. EST. 

Meanwhile, the United States' men's team also qualified for the semifinals, defeating Sweden 2-1 in overtime. 

They'll face Slovakia on Friday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. EST.