Hockey Canada announced that Julien sustained the injury after slipping on the ice during a team building activity on the training camp.

He was advised by medical staff that he would be unable to fly here for the Games, forcing Hockey Canada to find a replacement head coach.

Julien had been confirmed at the head coach for the Games on January 14.

He had served as an assistant coach the last time Canada won Olympic gold at Sochi 2014.

Julien also won the National Hockey League's (NHL) Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins in 2011, and had a four-year stint as Montreal Canadiens head coach from February 2017.

Colliton had initially been named as one of Julien’s assistants for the Games, but will now step up to the head coach position.

"Claude was beyond excited and honoured to be a member of Team Canada at the Olympics, and we are all disappointed that he will no longer be able to lead our team in Beijing," said Shane Doan, team general manager.

"Claude is in great spirits and we will continue to do everything we can to support him. 

"We ask that Claude’s privacy please be respected at this time.

"We are fortunate to have an experienced coaching staff, and Jeremy is a talented, young coach with a long career ahead of him.

"We know he will do an exceptional job leading our team behind the bench in Beijing.

"While we are excited for Jeremy to take on this challenge, we know Claude will be supporting us every step of the way and we wish him a speedy recovery."

Colliton is a former head coach of NHL team Chicago Blackhawks.

He previously held roles as head coach of Swedish side Mora IK and an assistant coach position with the Calgary Mustangs of the Alberta Junior Hockey League.

The 27-year-old previously played in the NHL for six season with the New York Islanders, while he won gold as part of the Canadian team at the 2003 Under-18 World Championships.

"While it is difficult to fill in for a coach that has a pedigree like Claude Julien, I am honoured to be considered as the person to lead Canada’s men’s Olympic team as head coach," Colliton said.

"We have a very close-knit, experienced coaching staff that has gained a lot of knowledge from Claude in our short time together, and I know our staff will continue to support each other as we look to achieve our goal of winning an Olympic gold medal."

Former Vancouver Canucks assistant coach Nolan Baumgartner and Hockey Canada's senior manager of hockey operations Tyler Dietrich will continue as assistants to Colliton.

Canada’s eight-day training camp in Davos is due to conclude tomorrow with a pre-tournament match against Switzerland.

The delegation will then travel to the Chinese capital, where they are scheduled to play a pre-Winter Olympics match against the United States on February 7 at the National Indoor Stadium.

Canada, the nine-time Olympic champions, will face the US, Germany and hosts China in Group A of the men’s tournament.

Canada will hope to win gold for the third time in four Winter Olympics, following triumphs at Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014.

The nation won the bronze medal at Pyeongchang 2018, beating the Czech Republic after a semi-final defeat to Germany.

Canada are among the nations hardest hit by the withdrawal of NHL players from the Games, with their 25-man squad consisting of rising stars and veterans.