Luton boss hails medical staff who saved Town defender Lockyer's life as 'heroes'

Hatters boss Rob Edwards has hailed the medical staff who saved defender Tom Lockyer’s life at AFC Bournemouth last weekend as ‘heroes’.

The Town centre half collapsed after an hour at the Vitality Stadium, going into cardiac arrest, but with help rushing on from the sidelines and after receiving lengthy emergency on-field treatment, was taken to hospital for further tests. Lockyer had also collapsed just over six months ago, during the Championship play-off final against Coventry City, diagnosed with an atrial fibrillation, for which he underwent surgery in the summer.

With this being a completely different issue to the one at Wembley, the Welsh international has since been fitted with an ICD (Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator) and allowed to return home with his family on Tuesday.

That he has been able to is all thanks to those who attended him, as Edwards said: “I won’t be able to articulate all of my feelings at the time, but my initial feeling was I sensed something was different this time, to May. Immediately it was about just raise that alarm, making everyone aware, trying to clear the area, and let the medics do their job.

"And while I’m on that now, wow did they do their job. I’m so proud of our medical guys, our staff, Bournemouth’s medics, the paramedics that were there as well at the time, they saved him. They made every decision bang on, under the scrutiny of everyone watching as well, the watching world, so they did an incredible, incredible job, they’re heroes.”

On how he knew this time was different, Edwards continued: “It was the fact that I just felt it, I can’t explain it, I just felt it. Now we know as well it was different because he had gone down before in May so you’re automatically going to worry. I just felt it and I think it was quite quickly you can see it was different.”

Following the match, which was abandoned by referee Simon Hooper with the scores level at 1-1, Edwards went to visit Lockyer in hospital. Having stayed in touch with his defender all through the last few days and now knowing he is back at home to begin the first stages of his recovery now, has been a huge lift to everyone at the club.

The Town chief added: “I went to see him immediately after in hospital after the game and we’ve been in touch every day, with him and his dad. We’ve been in regular contact and it’s all about recovery, it’s baby steps now, that’s it. I don’t want to keep pecking his head, ‘leave me alone a little bit Rob,’ but I’ve been in regular contact with him.

“I’m feeling a lot better now I know Tom is recovering at home. It’s been a difficult week for everybody, for Tom and his family most importantly, they’ve been the main concern all week and then surrounding that it’s the players, the staff and everyone that it’s affected, who are connected and on the periphery of it as well. It’s been difficult, but all that mattered in the end is that Tom’s come through it and is recovering at home.”