Luton Town captain Tom Lockyer is stable and in hospital after he suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch during their Premier League game against Bournemouth.
Lockyer, 29, went down with no-one around him in the 59th minute of the game and had to receive medical attention, before being taken off on a stretcher.
Referee Simon Hooper then led both teams off the pitch at Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium, before the game was later abandoned.
Luton later said that their medical team confirmed Lockyer had suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch but was responsive when he was taken off on a stretcher.
The club added that Lockyer received further treatment inside the stadium before being transferred to hospital, where he is stable and will undergo further assessments. His family are with him.
“We all hope and pray for our leader and captain Tom Lockyer, who is thankfully responsive and has been taken to hospital,” a Luton statement read.
“We don’t know the full extent of what happened and what the next steps are at this stage, but we thank Bournemouth and the medical staff on both sides for their immediate response, which was absolutely amazing.
“We are sorry to all supporters present that players from both sides were in no state of mind to continue with the game after seeing their much-loved team-mate and friend taken off like that, and staff could not carry on with managing the game in such circumstances having had to deal with the situation.
“We thank everyone for the wonderful applause and singing of Locks’ name inside the stadium at such a difficult time.
“Now is the time for all of our players, staff and supporters to come together as we always do and give our love and support to Tom and his family. Our thoughts are with him and them all.”
The sides were level when the incident occurred, with Dominic Solanke equalising for the hosts in the second half after Elijah Adebayo’s early opener for Luton. The Premier League has not yet issued a statement on the status of the match after it was abandoned.
Lockyer previously suffered a medical emergency 12 minutes into the Championship play-off at Wembley Stadium back in May, when he was taken off on a stretcher after being treated by medical staff having gone down with no-one around him.
After that incident, Lockyer was taken to hospital immediately and Luton confirmed shortly after that he was responsive. He left hospital four days later, before signing a new contract with Luton in July ahead of their inaugural Premier League season.
The defender had a successful operation and was cleared to train with his team-mates during pre-season. He said via club channels that he had an “atrial fibrillation”, which the NHS describes as causing “an irregular and often abnormally fast heart rate”.
Lockyer has started 15 of Luton’s 17 Premier League matches this season, including the now-abandoned Bournemouth game.
Lockyer was born in Cardiff and is a full Wales international, playing 16 times for his country since his senior debut in 2017.
He came through the ranks at Bristol Rovers, making his first-team debut in 2012 and amassing 285 appearances for them in seven years before leaving for Charlton Athletic. Lockyer spent one season with Charlton, featuring 43 times in the Championship before joining Luton in 2020.
Lockyer has since made 117 appearances for Luton and was a key figure as they won promotion to the Premier League last season.
GO DEEPER
The story of Luton’s emotional Premier League promotion: ‘Win it 4 Lockyer’
(Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Daniel Miller is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. His coverage spans from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis for sports enthusiasts.
