Tom Lockyer has opened up on the harrowing details of the cardiac arrest he suffered while playing for Luton Town earlier this season. The Hatters skipper collapsed on the pitch during a game against Bournemouth in December, with the match being abandoned as Lockyer received life-saving treatment.
Lockyer was discharged from hospital four days later and is continuing to recover, although it remains to be seen if he will be able to make a safe return to professional football. He opened up on his experience while appearing on Sky Sports as a pundit on Sunday, revealing that his heart stopped for over two minutes and that he thought he was going to die.
“I could see straight away that the paramedics, physios, club doctors, there was a bit more panic around and I was a bit disorientated,” said Lockyer.
“I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t move and I was just trying to take in and work out what was happening, while that was going on, I remember thinking: ‘I could be dying’. That’s a surreal thought to have and not be able to move and respond, and you can see the panic and feel the drip being put into my arm.
“It was all quite a hard mix of emotions, eventually I came around and was able to speak and respond. Once I came round and felt OK, it was almost a relief: ‘I’m alive’. I’m just fortunate it happened where it happened. I feel like everyone watching it and my family had it worse than me.
“It was two minutes and 40 [seconds] I was out for and I needed a defibrillator to shock me back. A massive thank you to the paramedics, club doctors, everyone involved that day because without them I wouldn’t be standing here.”
Luton boss Rob Edwards recently opened up on the scary incident in an interview with The Athletic, admitting that he broke down in tears in front of his players in the dressing room afterwards.
“I don’t want to talk about it too much, but it was different, it was so, so scary,” recalled Edwards. “I kind of broke down in front of the lads. I said: ‘I’m supposed to be a leader here, but I don’t know what to say. I can’t lead you right now at the moment’.
“Everyone acted differently. Carlton Morris spoke up and some members of the staff did as well, and that’s where you can see how strong we are as a unit, players and staff. I know I have to stand up and be the face of it most of the time, but that just showed our strength and our togetherness because I wasn’t in a position at that time to carry on.”
The incident came just a few months after Lockyer collapsed during the Championship play-off final against Coventry City, when Luton won promotion via a penalty shoot-out. He later discovered that he had suffered an atrial flutter, a type of abnormal heart rhythm, and was given the all-clear by medical staff a few days later.
Since his recent cardiac arrest, Lockyer has been spotted at Luton’s training ground and made an emotional return to Kenilworth Road last month. He received a standing ovation before kick-off and was sat behind the dugout for Luton’s emphatic 4-0 win over Brighton, a result which marked their biggest victory of the campaign.
Lockyer went on to thank Luton fans for their support, writing on Instagram: “A very emotional night for me back at the Kenny. Thank you all so much for your support and the reception I received. What a performance from the lads, so proud of this team.”
In January, he admitted that he felt ‘disconnected’ from football after spending time at Luton’s training ground, where he was greeted by his team-mates. He said: “It makes you miss it. Being away, you almost get a bit disconnected from the football world because it is unique and different than anything else you do.
“Being so active for all my life, not just football but everything else in general, to then be told you can’t really do anything has been quite difficult. I’ve been trying to find things to do in the days.”
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