Tom Lockyer met medics who helped save his life as he returned to the scene of his on-pitch cardiac arrest for Luton’s re-arranged meeting with Bournemouth.
Lockyer, 29, was hospitalised for five days after his heart stopped for two minutes and 40 seconds in the Hatters’ abandoned Premier League game at the Vitality Stadium on December 16.
The Wales defender, subsequently fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, has since conceded it is “out of his hands” if he will ever play again.
But, 88 days on from the incident which rocked the game, Lockyer met with the medical team who saved his life and was presented to the crowd before kick-off.
Luton manager Rob Edwards on Tuesday: “It will be emotional going back and reliving that experience but we know we have to do it.
“It was a really difficult experience that we all went through. The main thing now is that Locks is OK and the silver lining is that some good will have come from it, with more awareness on CPR and the importance of knowing what to do in those emergency situations.”
Locks and some of his heroes 🧡 pic.twitter.com/Lrvs96ECc5
— Luton Town FC (@LutonTown) March 13, 2024
A Bournemouth supporters’ trust raised more than £2,000 to put on four coaches for Luton fans to make the 240-mile round-trip from Bedfordshire to the south coast.
“They are the true heroes,” added Edwards. “It is only football and there are more important things.
“What those guys did in the most pressurised moment was incredible and they deserve all the attention and affection that they are going to get.”
Lockyer – whose girlfriend gave birth to their first child, a daughter, at the end of last month – also collapsed during May’s Championship play-off victory against Coventry and it remains uncertain if he will return to the pitch.
“It is day-by-day at the moment,” said Edwards. “He will enter into a period of rehabilitation but that can take a long time, months, so it is one step at a time at the moment.
“He will be coming down (Wednesday), which is great. He has got bigger things on his mind with a new baby and he is in a position where that is his main focus right now.
“We would love to have him here on a weekly basis and for him to be around more and lean on his experiences and he will help us.
“It will be really nice for him to meet those heroes and the supporters and he will get a brilliant reception. That will be really nice for him but it will be emotional, too.”