Tom Lockyer revealed his heart stopped for two minutes and forty seconds after he suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch back in December. The Luton captain, 29, collapsed during the Hatters’ clash with Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium – just seven months after he suffered a similar incident during the Championship play-off final.
He was discharged from hospital four days later and is now continuing his recovery. It is unclear whether he will resume his playing career, but he did return to Kenilworth Road last month and received a hero’s welcome from the fans ahead of their 4-0 win over Brighton. He also recently went to visit his teammates at the training ground in a touching moment for everyone at the club.
Then on Sunday he was a part of Sky Sports’ coverage for Luton’s clash with Manchester United where he was asked about his health. He said: “I’m doing well, I really am. Obviously I’m incredibly lucky to be stood here and be in such good spirits but I am really well.”
Lockyer, who also admitted it has been a “tough couple of months” then went on to describe the events that unfolded at Bournemouth in more detail. He added: “It was just a normal day and that’s probably the most worrying thing about it is I felt completely fine. “So I’ve been looking for answers, searching for answers, but as far as I was aware it was just another normal day at the office. It was all going well until what happened happened.”
Lockyer says he remembers feeling “light-hearted” when running up towards the halfway line, before he then woke up with paramedics around him. He insists the incident felt different from the “dream” he woke up from after collapsing at Wembley, describing the instant feeling at Bournemouth as more of a “nothingness”. He continued: “There was a little more panic around [than at Wembley]. I was a bit disorientated. I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t move, and I was just trying to take in what was happening. “While that was going on I remember thinking ‘I could be dying here’. It’s quite a surreal thought to have.”
Lockyer’s condition eventually improved and he describes it as a “relief” that he was alive, adding it was “fortunate” that it happened on the pitch where medical attention was close by. He then went on to confirm that a recording device placed under his chest after the episode at Wembley revealed his heart stopped for “two minutes and forty seconds” at the Vitality Stadium. Lockyer also thanked the medical staff who “without a doubt” saved his life as he insisted he will be “forever grateful” to them for what they did.
His girlfriend and father were both at the game, while his mum and brother learnt the news of his collapse on the radio. That is the part of it which Lockyer describes as the “hardest thing to deal with”. He has spoken to players who have had similar incidents – including Man Utd man Christian Eriksen who collapsed at the Euros but has since resumed his playing career.
However, Lockyer is adamant he will “take his time” before making a decision. He is also aware it is somewhat “out of my hands” as he will be dictated to by the advice from the medical staff.