Tom Lockyer (right) underwent heart surgery over the summer. Photo: Getty Images/Mark Enfield
Tom Lockyer was still being assessed in hospital on Sunday evening as his collapse remained a mystery to injured teammates and Luton Town staff.
Medical emergency for the captain against Bournemouth in the 59th minute, his second heart-related injury on the pitch in seven months. Atrial fibrillation, a heart problem that affects around 1.4 million people in the UK, was cited as the cause of his collapse in the Championship play-off final in May.
However, the club said on Saturday that Lockyer suffered a cardiac arrest. There has been no confirmation that the two incidents are related. «Tom is still undergoing tests and scans and is awaiting results before the next steps in his recovery are determined,» the club added.
Lockyer, who said he was given the «all clear» in June after surgery to eliminate atrial fibrillation, fell to the ground with the ball in the 65th minute. It is expected that the match, interrupted with a score of 1:1, will be replayed in its entirety.
Bournemouth midfielder Philip Billing was one of the first players to treat him, and medics from both teams rushed onto the pitch. Luton Town manager Rob Edwards also ran onto the pitch and motioned for players from both sides to give medics space to work on Lockyer.
On 6 June, just two weeks after the play-off final win over Coventry, the Wales international told the Luton Town website that he would be «ready to play football again as long as he follows 'doctor's orders' within «two weeks.» rest without raising your heart rate.”
Lockyer had previously appointed Professor Sanjay Sharma, who chairs the Football Association's (FA) Expert Cardiac Committee, to oversee his return to play. However, sources familiar with the situation claimed the FA had nothing to do with allowing Luton to continue playing him, insisting Sharma was acting in an independent capacity. Football authorities have stressed that his return to action in the summer is ultimately a matter for the club.
“I had atrial fibrillation, meaning the top of my heart was beating four times faster than it should,” said Lockyer in June about his collapse in the first half of the Wembley win. “There's really no reason to say why it happened, but I had surgery to fix it and it shouldn't happen again. Everything has been clearly explained to me what this is, and I just want to draw a line under it now and move on.”
The 29-year-old Luton Town captain responded on Saturday as he was carried away on a stretcher to applause. The club has since said his health is «stable and is currently undergoing further tests», but declined to go into detail. There is no suggestion that a defibrillator was used on him.
Newly promoted Luton called for privacy around the player. “While our captain Tom Lockyer remains in hospital following the cardiac arrest he suffered on the pitch at Bournemouth yesterday, we understand that fans are concerned about his condition and that there is widespread media interest in his condition…
We cannot provide ongoing comment on his situation and ask all media to wait for any updates to be published through the club's official channels when the time comes. We all want the best for Tom, his partner Taylor and the entire Lockyer family and politely ask that he and their privacy be respected at this difficult time.»
The latest incident happened just minutes after Dominic Solanke canceled Elijah Adebayo's first goal of the game for Luton in the third minute.
The players immediately rushed to Lockyer's aid before paramedics treated him on the pitch for 10 minutes while the players and coaching staff left the field.< /p>< p>Premier League Rule L15 states that any match abandoned with the consent of the referee will be replayed and the start date and time of the match will be determined by the top division council.
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