NAGANO, Japan -- A Canadian bobsledder was struck and slightly injured by falling debris at the Olympic Village but will be able to compete in Friday's four-man bobsled heat.

Matt Hindle, 23, of Calgary, was outside at 8 p.m. Wednesday when he was hit by what Canadian Olympic Association spokeswoman Suzanne Charest said was "pieces of glass" from a Plexiglass barrier that fell from the sixth floor of the Olympic Village tower.

BRIAN RAHILL, CANADA'S LUGE TEAM LEADER, said Hindle required five stitches for a cut to his shoulder from building material that fell from a balcony.

Hindle suffered only a glancing blow to his head, while his shoulder took the brunt of the blow, Rahill said.

Hindle was treated by a medical team but was not hospitalized, the luger added.

Charest said authorities were investigating the incident but that Hindle, who races on Canada's No. 2 bobsled team, was cleared to compete.

Hindle, his twin brother, Ben, and Ian Danney are on the No. 2 bobsled team headed by Chris Lori. They are scheduled to race 12th Friday in the 32-team field. Friday's preliminaries feature two runs, followed by the final two runs Saturday in the medal round.

Favored in the four-man bobsled are the German teams, led by 1994 Lillehammer gold-medalist Harald Czudaj, and the Swiss. Canada's top team is led by Pierre Lueders, which tied for the gold medal in the two-man bobsled Sunday at the Spiral track in Nagano.

The U.S. No. 1 team led by Brian Shimer is considered a medal contender as well.