RALEIGH, North Carolina - China's out-of-form former Olympic champion, Liu Xiang, can still be a contender at the 2012 London Games, according to veteran American hurdler Allen Johnson.

"I don't see why not. It's still two years away," Johnson, the 1996 Olympic 110m hurdles gold medallist, said in a telephone interview from his Irmo, South Carolina, training base on Wednesday.

"(Liu's problems) will pass in time, it's just a matter of working through," said Johnson, who like Liu underwent tendon surgery in 2008.