The 59th minute of the Premier League game between AFC Bournemouth and Luton Town suddenly became indifferent to football. Tom Lockyer, the captain of the Luton team, collapsed near the center circle and lay motionless on the turf. Bournemouth’s Philip Billing was the first to notice, ran to Lockyer and immediately called for help.
While Lockyer was being treated by paramedics on the field, Luton coach Rob Edwards ran onto the pitch and sent his own and opposing players away from the action. Shortly afterwards, Lockyer was carried off the field on a stretcher and wearing an oxygen mask to applause from both fan camps. Half an hour later the game was officially abandoned with the score at 1:1.
Lockyer, who turned 29 two weeks ago, suffered a cardiac arrest. He was reportedly able to respond while he was still in the stadium, but the situation remained serious. On Saturday evening, Luton Town reported that Lockyer’s condition was stable and he would remain in hospital for further assessments in the presence of his family.
“I had surgery to fix it.”
In a statement, the club thanked the medical staff at the stadium and apologized for the abandonment of the game: “We are sorry to all the fans in attendance that the players from both sides were unable to continue the game after witnessing it “Her beloved teammate and friend was taken out of the game in this way.” Employees and supervisors were also not prepared to continue under these circumstances. Bournemouth responded to Luton’s announcement on Saturday evening: “We are relieved to hear that Tom is responsive.”
It wasn’t the first incident of this kind for Lockyer. In May this year he collapsed in the Championship play-off final at Wembley Stadium and was substituted. At that time it was not a case of cardiac arrest. Despite this, Lockyer underwent surgery to treat what is known as atrial fibrillation, which had led to his collapse.
In an interview with the BBC, he later reassured that the whole thing wasn’t as bad as it seemed. “I’ve had surgery to repair it and it shouldn’t happen again,” he said: “I’ve been given the all-clear. It is like it is. I just want to draw a line under it now and move on.”
The scenes in Bournemouth brought back memories of the 2021 European Championships, when Dane Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch and had to be resuscitated on the spot. Today Eriksen wears a so-called implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) in his chest. The device automatically detects irregularities in the heartbeat and, if necessary, corrects them using electrical impulses. The implant allows him to continue playing professional football. Today he is under contract with Manchester United; In England it is possible to play professional sports with an ICD.
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Lockyer was born in Cardiff and the defender has played 16 international matches for the Welsh national team. He made his breakthrough into the professionals at Bristol Rovers, and in 2020 he moved from Charlton Athletic to Luton. Last season he captained the team to promotion to the Premier League – it was the highlight of his career. The club is a complete underdog in England’s top division and is, as expected, fighting against relegation. It remains to be seen whether and when Tom Lockyer will be able to help again after his cardiac arrest.
