Arsenal loanee Albert Sambi Lokonga has picked up an injury in pre-season with new club Sevilla, forcing him out of Friday’s friendly against Al-Ittihad.

Arsenal midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga completed a loan move to La Liga side Sevilla earlier this month, with the Spanish club holding a £10m option to buy at the end of the season.

Given the tumultuous nature of Lokonga’s last few seasons, the hope from all parties is that this campaign goes well for him.

A strong 2024/25 would be good for the player and his new club, and it would net Arsenal a decent fee next summer.

Lokonga was straight into the action with Sevilla in pre-season, starting in a friendly against Sporting CP on Tuesday. But a few days later, the club confirmed the bad news of a knock ruling him out of their next game.

Sevilla announced on social media that Lokonga had been withdrawn from the squad to face Al-Ittihad on Friday with a neck issue.

It’s unclear how serious the injury is at this stage, but the Arsenal loanee was replaced by Ramon Martinez for Friday’s game.

The Spanish side ended up winning the game 1-0 thanks to a Lucas Ocampos penalty, and Lokonga will hope to be back in action as soon as possible before the team pick up too much momentum without him.

Sevilla’s competitive La Liga campaign kicks off on August 16th, but they play a couple of Premier League friendlies before that against Fulham and Liverpool.