Bournemouth and Luton game abandoned after Tom Lockyer collapses on pitch
The Luton skipper had an operation on an irregular heartbeat this earlier year.
Bournemouth’s clash with Luton Town has been abandoned after Tom Lockyer collapsed in the middle of the pitch during the second half.
In an off the ball incident with no-one around him, the 29-year-old fell to his knees and then rolled onto his back in the 55th minute and required immediate medical attention as physios and doctors from both teams rushed on to help him.
The frightening scenes were reminiscent of last season’s Championship Play-Off final against Coventry when he was stretched off the pitch after collapsing 11 minutes into the game at Wembley.
Lockyer suffered atrial fibrillation of the heart that day and underwent an operation to correct his irregular heartbeat, but he was given the all clear to continue playing and signed a contract extension with Luton in June.
The way Lockyer collapsed at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday was eerily similar, with a stunned silence sweeping across the crowd as the doctors and paramedics treated him.
Conscious that something was seriously wrong, Luton boss Rob Edwards ran onto the pitch and ushered his players away from their skipper so he could receive medical attention.
Referee Simon Hooper initially took the players over to the dugout, with some even seen praying for Lockyer, before the match was initially suspended and the two teams returned to the dressing rooms.
Lockyer was eventually stretchered off the pitch, with supporters from both clubs chanting his name and applauding him as he left the field.
According to the Bournemouth team doctor, Lockyer was ‘alert and responsive’ in the tunnel but will now be taken to hospital.
Some 20 minutes after Lockyer was stretchered off, it was announced that the match would be abandoned with both sets of players shaken by the events.
The two sides did re-emerge from the tunnel and did a lap around the Vitality Stadium, applauding supporters who clapped and sung Lockyer’s name.
Luton boss Edwards was in tears as he walked around the pitch, thanking both sets of supporters for singing the name of his captain.
Speaking in the summer, Lockyer had hoped his issues were behind him, telling the BBC: ‘I’ve had the operation to fix it and it shouldn’t happen again.
‘There’s not really any reason to say why that happened.
‘I’ve been given the all-clear – it is what it is and I just want to draw a line under it now and move on.
‘I’ve had my full heart checked and double checked with all the scans and tests they can do on a heart, and they’ve all come back positive.’
More to follow…
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