Luton Town's Tom Lockyer, front, and Bournemouth's Dominic Solanke battle for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Bournemouth and Luton Town at the Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth, England, Saturday Dec. 16, 2023. (Steven Paston/PA via AP)
The manager of Luton Town, Rob Edwards, called the moment Hatters captain Tom Lockyer unexpectedly collapsed on the pitch ‘the scariest moment’ of his life.
Lockyer had gone into cardiac arrest during the second half of Luton’s Premier League match against Bournemouth, which was called off after the 29-year-old received emergency treatment on the pitch before being transported to the hospital.
Lockyer had also collapsed on the pitch during Luton’s Championship play-off victory over Coventry City
Five days after the most recent collapse at the Vitality Stadium, he was released from the hospital after having an implanted cardioverter defibrillator. Since then, Luton has stated that his cardiac arrest was not the same as the atrial fibrillation he experienced during the play-off final.
Additionally, Edwards expressed his surprise when Lockyer went down and his appreciation for the prompt attention he received from the medical professionals during the pre-game press conference for Saturday’s home game against Newcastle United.
Edwards remarked, “It was the scariest moment I have ever had, never mind in football.”
“The medical staff was amazing. With the entire world watching, it was an insanely high-stress scenario, yet they made flawless decisions. I’m so happy for them. They kept him alive.
“The paramedics from Bournemouth who were on the scene are true heroes,”
Lockyer has begun his recuperation process and is not anticipated to play for Luton in the upcoming days, weeks, or months.
An implanted cardiac device, or ICD, is a tiny, battery-operated device that listens for and interrupts irregular heartbeats. It restores a regular cardiac beat by delivering electric shocks as necessary, and according to Edwards, it is “too early to tell” if Lockyer’s playing career will be impacted.
“He’s getting better; right now, little steps.” Nobody won’t miss him. Edwards continued, “He’s a leader and an inspiration to all of us.
“With regard to Lockyer’s playing career, it’s too early to tell.” From now on, the focus is on Tom’s recovery. He had surgery, and we’ll see what that entails moving ahead.
Gary Sweet, the CEO of Luton, has also praised the “heroic” medical personnel for saving Lockyer’s life.
“From the time I went down until I was revived, it took two minutes,” Sweet stated. The steps taken by those protocols that finally resulted in his survival are astounding.
“The medical teams from Luton and Bournemouth, as well as the doctors and paramedics, are all heroes. Their performance was outstanding.” We are so grateful to them.
Rob on Locks. 🧡 pic.twitter.com/WQCcnmYBsc
— Luton Town FC (@LutonTown) December 22, 2023
“Yes, absolutely—life is about more than just football.” We weren’t thinking about the game at all when it happened, so we didn’t care. It was all about getting him better.
Sweet acknowledged that the problem has been difficult to resolve and that the club has learned from it.
“We’ve never done this before,” he continued. All of it is education for us. It has presented us with numerous difficulties, and this week has been particularly difficult. All of this has been about getting together and supporting Tom as a team.
“We felt relieved that he was in good hands and was being brought home by people we know.”
