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US Cyclist Landis Report Serious Knee Injury

Floyd Landis, former teammate of legendary bicyclist Lance Armstrong, announced that he is currently riding with an arthritic hip that causes him great pain, and that he plans to replace it with a prosthetic one at the end of this year`s Tour de France. Landis is one of the top US riders and has a good chance of winning the tournament.

Although Landis kept his condition confidential he said "it wasn`t my intention to cover something up." Brent Kay, his doctor, informed that the ball of Landis` hip joint has been gradually dying and collapsing, causing gnawing pain. The bone damage is "as bad as it can get," Kay said. "Everything is pretty much worn down."

The US bicyclist is 30 years old and already carrying the injury from the Tours of 2003 and 2004 while riding for Armstrong`s team, and also from 2005 when he finished at the ninth place while riding for his current team. "Using it doesn`t in any way increase the chance that it will be unusable later. It is already ruined," Landis said. "Whenever the pain gets too bad I will have it replaced, probably sooner than later."