On April 26, 2009, Cheng was readmitted to ICU following a near-fatal sepsis infection; he survived the infection following treatment and was released from ICU about a week later. Following the release, a rumor started to spread in early May that Cheng had awakened fully from his coma but this was denied on oneloveforchi.com, stating that Cheng was in a semi-conscious state. On August 18, Cheng underwent surgery to replace a bone flap in his skull that had been removed after the crash, in order to relieve intracranial pressure.