Liu Xiang to return in September

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After injury put a temporary end to the Olympic dreams of Liu Xiang, the Chinese hurdling star is now on the road to recovery. And he is scheduled to return to track in this September's Shanghai Golden Grand Prix.

Six months after undergoing surgery on his Achilles tendon in the United States, Liu Xiang is now in his hometown Shanghai for regular training.

Liu has already qualified for the Berlin World Championship in August, thanks to his performance at last year's competition in Osaka. But he will miss this year's tournament as he is not yet fully recovered from surgery. It will be the first time he is absent from the world championships since 2001.

Sun Haiping, Liu Xiang's coach, said, "We now hope to return in September for the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix and the National Games. But the premise is whether his feet will allow him to do so. Now we're still waiting."

Liu Xiang will have his feet examined for the third time at the end of June since returning home. The result will decide when Liu will put on his spiked shoes to begin proper hurdles training.

Sun said, "Now we can't ask him to do intense training with spiked shoes on. We still have to wait for the exam to make sure everything is fine. And then we can begin the hurdles training."

With Liu Xiang's absence, China will send three athletes to compete in the Berlin World Championships.