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Injured Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang will have surgery on his Achilles tendon in Britain after crashing out of his 110m hurdles heat at the London Olympics.

The Chinese team confirmed Liu, who shot to fame after winning gold at the Athens Games, had ruptured his tendon.

"The doctor is an expert and has done operations on many famous players like David Beckham," said spokesman Du Zhaocai.

An Achilles injury also forced Liu to of the Beijing Olympics.

The problem returned to haunt the 29-year-old in London and he failed to clear the first hurdle in Tuesday's heat.

The 2011 World Championship silver medallist then hopped down the track, kissing the final hurdle before being consoled by his fellow competitors. He left the track in a wheelchair and taken to hospital.

American Aries Merritt won the gold as 2008 champion Dayron Robles of Cuba also suffered an injury, tearing his hamstring early in the race.