Chelsea's Argentinian international midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron is to join Serie A side Inter Milan on loan for a year.

Veron, who previously played in Italy with Lazio, struggled to command a place in the Chelsea first team last season because of injury.

Chelsea, who paid Manchester United £15 million for Veron in August last year, released a statement which read: "Chelsea Football Club today announced they had agreed a loan deal with FC Internazionale for midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron.

"The deal sees Veron joining the Milan club for one year from July 1st."

Veron is the first player to leave Stamford Bridge since new coach Jose Mourinho took over on Wednesday, following Claudio Ranieri's departure.

Meanwhile, Republic of Ireland and Everton midfielder Kevin Kilbane was scheduled to undergo an operation yesterday in an attempt to cure an ankle problem that has seen him miss the last three league matches for his club and the friendly internationals for his country.

He has been resting for the last few weeks but the problem has not cleared and an operation to remove a small piece of bone from the back of the ankle joint is necessary, according to the club's website.

Kilbane is expected to be back for pre-season training next month.