ROME, August 20, 2008 (AFP) - Ukrainian striker Andrei Shevchenko, who has endured a miserable two years at Chelsea, is set to be loaned to his former club AC Milan, the Gazzetta dello Sport reported on Wednesday.

Shevchenko will go on a free loan to the Serie A side and is expected in Milan by Friday at the latest, Gazzetta claimed.

AC Milan owner and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is said to have agreed the return of the 31-year-old after a meeting last week in his Sardinian villa with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovitch.

Shevchenko started his career at Dynamo Kiev before spending seven seasons at AC Milan where he won both the Champions League and Serie A titles before transferring to Chelsea in the summer of 2006 for 30 million pounds.

But after suffering a series of injuries he has failed to shine in west London and has repeatedly been linked with a switch back to Serie A.

The Ukraine striker scored 173 times for Milan but has only recorded nine league goals for Chelsea.