Luton captain Tom Lockyer, who suffered a cardiac arrest during a match in mid-December, has announced that he will consult cardiologists early next year to decide his future in football.
The 29-year-old Welsh defender collapsed on the Bournemouth pitch during a Premier League match on December 16. Rescued on site then hospitalized, he was released five days later after having had an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), a small device used to control the irregular heartbeat.
“I will do everything possible, in any way possible, to help” the Hatters, in the fight to remain in the elite, he wrote on Sunday on social networks. “It remains to be determined to what extent, because I have to meet with specialists in the new year,” he continued.
The Hatters captain had already undergone surgery to correct atrial fibrillation after feeling unwell during Luton’s Championship play-off final victory over Coventry in May. Atrial fibrillation causes an irregular and often abnormally fast heart rate. His club indicated that his new malaise had nothing to do with this problem.
Luton are currently 18th in the Premier League, in the first relegation position, but have recorded two important victories in the three matches played since the accident of Lockyer, who praised the “fighting spirit” of his teammates. Their performances, he adds, gave him “a much-needed boost” during his recovery, as did the many messages of support he has received over the past two weeks.
“Seeing the banners on the pitch, hearing my name sung (by the crowd) meant a lot to my family and to me,” he wrote, also paying tribute to the “heroes” who saved his life at Bournemouth.
