BEIJING, Dec. 8 -- Star hurdler Liu Xiang is expected to be back on track in six months after last week's surgery on his foot was declared a "success." "We felt he did very well through the surgery," Thomas Clanton, the doctor who performed the procedure at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center in Houston, said on Saturday. "It was exactly what we had anticipated finding. His prognosis for running in the future is quite good."

Liu, 25, left the hospital yesterday morning Beijing time in a wheelchair, looking relaxed and making faces at people outside the hospital. He jested that his only feeling during the operation was being "hungry".

He needs six months for rehabilitation and the process "is as important as the surgery", Liu's coach Sun Haiping said.

"The surgery is the first step and he still needs a careful recovery plan," he said.

Liu will go back to the hospital for further consultation on Wednesday and a rehabilitation plan will be worked out after that.

"Liu has been a professional sportsman for a long time, so his physical condition is very good, which will make his rehabilitation faster than for normal people," Sun said.

"Liu will have a good rest and then walk with crutches. After the Spring Festival (Jan 26), he may go jogging."

China's star hurdler Liu Xiang arrives at Los Angeles International Airport in the United States to transfer flight to Houston on Dec. 3, 2008.

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