Luton Town announced that Tom Lockyer is ‘stable’ after his collapse on the field due to suffering a cardiac arrest forced the abandonment of the team’s match at Bournemouth on Saturday. Play at the Vitality Stadium was halted, and the game then abandoned, with the score level at 1-1 due to a medical emergency involving Luton Town defender and captain Lockyer. The game was stopped in the 58th minute when he collapsed on the field and he was stretchered off by the medical teams to receive attention while all the fans applauded in solidarity.
Luton Town has confirmed that Lockyer’s collapse was due to a cardiac arrest but that he was responsive by the time he was stretchered off. After receiving further treatment at the stadium, the defender has now been transferred to a hospital to undergo further treatment and tests.
Lockyer’s previous collapse
This is not the first time that Lockyer has collapsed on the pitch. Luton’s promotion to the premier league was bittersweet with Lockyer unable to complete the final match of the season after being forced off the pitch after a collapse. After being examined by doctors, the defender underwent heart surgery for an atrial fibrillation before being cleared to return to play. Lockyer has stated that his heart was checked with all the scans coming back positive that things were good for a return to play.
“It was a weird one,” Lockyer said recalling the previous incident. “I remember running backwards and then I went really light-headed and my legs went really weak straight away, as I was running back. I remember stumbling back and then all I remember was [physiotherapist] Chris Phillips over the top of me, and he was saying ‘Locks, you’re coming off’.
“I was like ‘no mate, no mate, I’m fine’, but he was saying ‘no, it’s serious Locks, you’ve collapsed. You’re coming off’. Then it dawned on me that I was on the floor and this is actually serious. I just got really emotional. I couldn’t stop crying on the floor.”
It’s a scary situation and the entire Premier League has shown solidarity for the Welshman as all are pulling for a swift recovery.
