Liu Xiang set for tendon surgery in the U.S.

After a week-long trip to see doctors in the U.S., Chinese gold medal hurdler Liu Xiang (刘翔) has returned to Shanghai with his coach Sun Haiping and is set to undergo an operation soon. Prior to this trip, a conservative approach had been advised for the Achilles injury that led to Liu's shock withdrawal from the Beijing Olympics and Sun had always maintained that surgery would be a "last resort". Medical experts in the U.S. have advised that surgery is not just safe, but necessary to remove the three calcifications that have occurred between his bone and tendon, and Liu himself has said (through his coach) that he is willing to do "whatever it takes" to ensure he gets back on track.