Luton captain Tom Lockyer has spoken about suffering a cardiac arrest in a Premier League match earlier this season.
The Hatters’ match against Bournemouth in December came to a gruesome halt when the defender collapsed on the pitch for the second time in a matter of months.
After suffering atrial fibrillation at Wembley in the Championship play-off final in May, Lockyer returned to football to captain his team in their first season in the Premier League.
However, the football world came to a halt when it hit the ground at Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium, with the match canceled and rescheduled for mid-March.
Speaking as a guest on Sky Sports ahead of his team’s match against Manchester United on Sunday, Lockyer spoke about the events, including his memories of what happened and how he is now.
WARNING: Disturbing images below
Luton captain Tom Lockyer (above) admitted he thought he might have been dying when he went into cardiac arrest during the Hatters’ clash with Bournemouth in December.
The Bournemouth scare was the second time Lockyer collapsed in a matter of months.
The Hatters defender has admitted that he is “doing well” and that he is “incredibly lucky to be here.”
“I’m fine, I really am,” he said. “I’m incredibly lucky to be here and in such a good mood, but I’m doing great.”
‘It’s not something that happens every day, is it? It’s nice to be able to say that I’m doing well, everyone deserves to know and see me doing well. A tough couple of months but I’m fine.
“I was running to the halfway line and got really dizzy, thinking I’d be fine in a second. I wasn’t and I woke up with paramedics everywhere. It happened in May but I knew instantly this time was different, last time I woke up almost like a dream and this time I woke up out of nowhere.
“I could see straight away, the paramedics, physiotherapists, club doctors, there was more panic, I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t move, trying to understand what was happening. “While that was happening, I remember thinking: ‘I could be dying here.’ It’s a surreal thought to have been thinking that and not be able to move or respond, and you could see the panic. I could feel them dripping into my arm.
‘Once I regained consciousness it was a relief, I’m alive and fortunately it happened where it happened, I was living it and my family almost had it worse than me. After what happened in May, I have a recording device and I was out for 2 minutes and 40 seconds, and I had to have a defibrillator to shock me back and many thanks to the paramedics, the club doctors and everyone involved, since without them I wouldn’t be there. standing here.
He admitted he was “lucky” to collapse where he did, with medical staff around.
Fans were thrilled when the game was canceled and the match was rearranged in March.
Even though the event occurred almost two months ago, there is still no clear reason why it happened, much to Lockyer’s despair.
But he takes comfort in talking to other players who have suffered heart problems, including Christian Eriksen, who suffered a heart attack on the field during Denmark’s European Championship match against Finland.
‘I wish I could tell you (why) because ever since I looked back I thought it could be this or that, but it was just a normal day and the most worrying thing is that I felt completely fine. Like I said, I’ve been searching and searching for answers. It was just another day at the office and everything was going well until what happened happened.
“I spoke to Eriksen, Daly Blind and Charlie Wyke, who all had similar heart conditions and one thing similar about all of them was that they took their time to process what happened. I don’t know if I have processed it but maybe because we, as athletes, are able to face things differently and compartmentalize.
‘I know I literally died, but since then I’ve been pretty numb to the whole thing. The common thing with them was to take their time and do what is right for you and your family, the baby will be born soon and that is my priority.
Lockyer revealed that he has spoken to people like Christian Eriksen (left), who suffered a heart attack on the field in 2021 while representing Denmark at the European Championship.
He has since returned to Luton but revealed he may have to retire due to what happened.
The 29-year-old was pressed on the chances of him playing again and refused to rule it out, although he acknowledged that time is still some way off.
‘My hands, to a certain extent, are dictated by the medical staff and specialists. What I would say is that if there is a chance to play again (I won’t do anything against the specialists’ recommendations), then I would love to do it.
“It’s too early to say at this point that a lot more testing needs to be done in the background, but I wouldn’t rule it out at any point.” But my priority is my baby.