Defender suffers cardiac arrest and collapses on the field in England

The Welsh defender Tom Lockyer, captain of Luton Townsuffered “a cardiac arrest on the field” this Saturday (16), but was already responding when he was taken out on a stretcher” and is currently “stable” and undergoing tests at the hospital, the club said.

Lockyer collapsed on the field in the 14th minute of the second half of the away match against Bournemouth, needed to be treated for 15 minutes and ended up being removed to applause from the public. Amid tension over the situation, the duel was suspended with 1-1 on the scoreboard, at the Vitality Stadium.

“Our medical department confirmed that the captain suffered a cardiac arrest on the field, but was already responding when he was taken out on a stretcher. He received additional treatment inside the stadium. We thank everyone once again for their support, concern and kind messages for Locks,” says the message.

According to the club, “Tom has been transferred to hospital and followers can be assured that he is stable and is currently undergoing further tests with his family by his side.”

Luton Town also explained that the match was suspended because players from both teams were “not psychologically fit to continue playing” after seeing Lockyer collapse on the pitch. Before leaving the stadium, the athletes returned to the field to applaud the fans who remained in the stands and sang the defender’s name. Luton manager Rob Edwards was seen crying.

Defender fainted in a match played in May

In May, in the decisive phase of the playoff for access from the second division to the elite of the English Championship, against Coventry City, Lockyer felt unwell and passed out on the field. “It’s like when you stand up really quickly, but worse, and then my legs go jelly almost instantly and I remember falling backwards, and the next thing I know I woke up and there were paramedics all around me,” he said in participation in the podcast “The Central Club”, a week ago, when remembering what happened.

The defender wanted to continue playing, but was prevented from doing so and taken to the hospital. “It was a strange feeling of disappointment, like I was letting the team down,” he said. After the incident, he had to undergo minor heart surgery and was released to play again. “I was very lucky. They knew immediately what it was and it wasn’t life-threatening. It was an atrial flutter, which is an irregular heartbeat, so my heart wasn’t responding as it should in these situations,” he said in an interview with Sky Sports in June . “I had a small procedure and this shouldn’t happen again,” he concluded at the time.