MONACO - CHINA'S Liu Xiang, whose heartbreaking injury misery was one of the defining images of the Beijing Olympics, will undergo surgery on his troublesome right foot in the United States at the end of December.

The 2004 Olympic 110m hurdles champion, who limped out of the Bird's Nest Stadium in the Chinese capital before the start of his heats in August, will have the operation in Houston, Texas.

'I have consulted a number of specialists in China and abroad and based on their unanimous advice, I have taken this decision,' said Liu who is here to attend the end of season International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) gala on Sunday.

Former world champion Liu, with coach Sun Haping at his side, said that he had been suffering for many years as a result of calcification between the heel and the bone of his foot.

'I don't remember for how long. It was even a problem in July 2006 when I set the new world record (12.88sec) in Lausanne.'

Sun added that as far back as 2005, an X-ray had shown a calcification of 0.2cm that had grown between 2007 and 2008 from 0.4cm to 1.2cm.

Liu, 25, said that despite his 'unbearable' pain, he has always hoped to take part in the Beijing Olympics, for which he had been one of the poster boys.

'The chances of success in the surgery are 99 per cent. I don't know how long the convalescence will be but I hope to take part in the world championships (in Berlin in August 2009.)'

Despite his Beijing disappointment, Liu said that the injury-enforced withdrawal, witnessed by millions on TV across China, wasn't the saddest moment in his life.

'That was when my grandmother died,' he said. -- AFP