Injured Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang will probably undergo a surgery in Britain after he crashed out of his 110m hurdles heat at the London Olympics on Tuesday, an official from Shanghai's municipal sports bureau said.

"The State General Administration of Sports are contacting hospitals for the treatment of Liu," a Shanghai official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

"He will remain in Britain for a while and is very likely to receive a surgery here."

Liu exited the London Games after smashing into the first obstacle of his 110m hurdles heat, four years after he was forced to withdraw due to a tendon injury from his heat at the 2008 Beijing Games.

Chinese athletics team leader, Feng Shuyong later revealed that Liu might have snapped his Achilles.

"I think the problem happened with the taking off. We all know that at the moment of taking off the tendon sustains very, very big pressure," said Feng.

Liu earned a rousing ovation from the 80,000 crowd as he hopped down the track to symbolically cross the finishing the line, kissing the last hurdle as he did so before being consoled by fellow competitors.