Milan, Italy - Canada captain Sidney Crosby will not play in the Winter Olympics men's ice hockey gold medal match against Team USA on Sunday.

Crosby, a two-time Olympic champion in 2010 and 2014, picked up a lower-body injury against the Czech Republic in Wednesday's quarter-finals.

The 38-year-old Pittsburg Penguins player also missed Canada's 3-2 win against Finland in the semi-finals on Friday.

Coach Jon Cooper had said they would take no risks with Crosby, who scored the golden goal when Canada defeated the USA in overtime at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Olympics Winter Olympics: Canada and USA to meet in ice hockey gold medal showdown

"He won't put himself in harm's way, and he will not put the team in harm’s way," Cooper said after training on Saturday.

"It is too important. We do not want to have someone in there who is an inspiration when we could have a player who is capable of helping," he explained.

"We know what is at stake here."

Canada are bidding to become the first nation to win 10 men's ice hockey Olympic gold medals.

The USA have not won the men's title since their 1980 "Miracle on Ice" triumph over the Soviet Union in Lake Placid. They have not beaten Canada in a men's final since 1960.