Sidney Crosby makes his decision for the Four Nations Face-Off.

After a great deal of speculation, concern and consternation, it is now official.

On Monday afternoon, Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby officially confirmed his participation for the upcoming Four Nations Face-Off tournament. Crosby did so by confirming that he will play in his country's very first game of the tournament, which will be this coming Wednesday against Sweden.

There had been some concern that Crosby would be forced to pull out of the Four Nations Face-Off after he suffered an injury during an awkward collision with New Jersey Devils' forward Erik Haula earlier this month. Crosby has not appeared in an NHL game since suffering the injury but it would seem that he was determined to represent his country at this tournament.

Here's a look at how the Penguins captain was injured:

That Crosby will be playing in this tournament after missing NHL games may not sit well with some fans in Pittsburgh, the Penguins acknowledged that Crosby had more than earned the right to make this decision after being such a loyal staple of their franchise for his entire NHL career thus far.

Crosby will now join some of the NHL's truly elite talent in the Canadian lineup, and this tournament will be all that much more exciting to watch with him participating in it.

If you'd like to check out Team Canada's lineup you can do so by reading my report from earlier today.