Tom Lockyer opens up on suffering cardiac arrest against Bournemouth

Luton Town captain Tom Lockyer has opened up on suffering an on-field cardiac arrest during last year's Premier League clash against Bournemouth.

The 29-year-old defender was resuscitated by medics on the afternoon of December 16 after his heart stopped for two minutes and 40 seconds.

Lockyer, who was fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator after being hospitalised for five days, said he "literally died" as his father and pregnant girlfriend watched on that day.

Now, the Wales international has detailed his first thoughts after being resuscitated.

Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast with Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Micah Richards, Lockyer gave an insight into the minutes, hours and days after the event.

"I think the first thought I had when I came around was... my girlfriend is watching in the stand and she's seven months pregnant, and god knows how she's feelings with her not being able to do anything," Lockyer said.

"And I was thinking, is it going to affect the baby in anyway? Stresses like that can have adverse effects in certain ways. It wasn't a nice feelings to have at the time but she has handled it really well. I can't speak highly enough of her."

Later on in the podcast, Lineker asked if there was a fear of dying at any stage.

"I was really numb to it all. It's hard to explain," Lockyer said. "I woke up and I was trying to work out what was going on. I wasn't able to process that. I wasn't able to move or speak.

"But I could the physios and the paramedics were in 'go' mode. I was having cannulas put in my arm. I could feel that but I couldn't move or speak or respond when they asked, 'Can you hear me?'

"I remember thinking, 'I could be dying here'. That was the thought I had. The best way to describe it is, it was like a movie; when a big bomb goes off and then the person wakes up on the floor, disorientated. That's how it felt."

Image credit: Getty

Lockyer also spoke about the recent arrival of his daughter and how it has "changed" his world.

He added: "Obviously the baby's come along, I don't have the energy at the minute, but when things settle down a little bit hopefully I can try and get in [to visit Luton] a little bit more."

Topics: Luton Town, Premier League, Bournemouth, Wales, Gary Lineker

Jack Kenmare

Senior Journalist at SPORTbible with a passion for long-form journalism. Almost 10 years’ experience across online and print.

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