Embattled Tour de France champion Floyd Landis is back at his California home after undergoing two-hour surgery Wednesday to repair his damaged hip.

Doctors say it’s conceivable the 30-year-old could return to competition next year in time for the 2007 Tour de France – that is, if Landis can beat back doping allegations clouding his 2006 Tour victory.

“If all goes well and according to plans, he would be able to come back in 2007 to competition,” Landis spokesman Michael Henson told VeloNews. “It’s unprecedented. None of the medical team can say just how this is going to play out, but they all believe this is his best chance to return to the highest level.”

Rather than a traditional hip replacement, Landis’ medical team opted for a cutting-edge “hip resurfacing” technique that shaved off the rotten tip of the hip and replaced it with a metal ball. Doctors also smoothed the joint socket to further increase mobility.

“It’s a state-of-art procedure, in a sense a more delicate procedure than in a full replacement surgery,” Henson said. “His rehab time should be a little shorter and he should be able to get back to full movement sooner. If all goes well, he should be even stronger.”

Landis stayed overnight in the Oasis/HealthSouth Surgery Center in San Diego. Dr. David Chao – team physician for the San Diego Chargers football team - and Dr. Ronan Treacy, the consulting physician, operated on Landis. The two-hour procedure went well and Landis returned home Thursday morning, Henson said.Landis broke his hip during a training crash near his home in Murrieta, Calif., in January 2003. Since then, the pain has ratcheted up each year as the bone inside the hip socket deteriorated.Doctors described the condition as “avascular necrosis,” which reduces blood flow to the upper tip of his right femur, leaving behind a rotten knob grinding inside the hip socket.

“They obviously saw the hip with X-rays and MRIs, but when doctors finally got in there to see it, they were amazed he could ride the Tour de France, let alone win it,” Henson said.

Landis will undergo a six-week rehabilitation program, but will be able to ride the stationary bike without putting any weight on his hip within two weeks and walk with crutches for four weeks.

“Floyd is in very good spirits and he’s very happy to have this behind him,” Henson said. “This has weighed heavily on his mind for two years. Anytime someone is facing major invasive surgery, that’s something you’re anxious about.”

Landis, however, faces another more complicated battle as he revs up efforts to clear his name of doping allegations.

Landis is facing charges he doped en route to becoming the third American to win the Tour after post-stage urine tests - taken following his dramatic stage victory across the Alps into Morzine - revealed unusually high T/E ratios (11:1 compared to the allowed 4:1). Other tests allegedly revealed non-naturally occurring, exogenous testosterone, an allegation Landis denies.

Last week, Landis received notice that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency will move forward with the disciplinary process. He faces a two-year racing ban as well as the prospect of becoming the first rider in the Tour’s 103-year history of having the overall Tour crown stripped away for a doping violation.

Landis’ legal team, headed up by Howard Jacobs, will request an open hearing by the American Arbitration Association, the first time an athlete has invoked the right to have the three-member arbitration hearing open to the public.

Landis has insisted on his innocence and has expressed confidence he will be able to prove his case.

A hearing isn’t expected until after the New Year, Henson said.