Premier League Soccer Player Tom Lockyer Reveals New Implanted Defibrillator Following In-Game Cardiac Arrest

Published|Updated

One of the scariest moments in recent sports history unfolded during the second half of Luton Town's Premier League match against AFC Bournemouth on Dec. 16 when Luton Town's captain, Tom Lockyer, suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch. The 29-year-old recently revealed that he has had a defibrillator surgically implanted into his body following the incident.

Lockyer's heart stopped for two minutes and 40 seconds.

In a video shared by Sky Sports, Lockyer showed off the scar just below his left armpit where surgeons inserted a cardioverter-defibrillator below his left shoulder blade. The defibrillator looks to be about the size of a hockey puck and noticeably bulges out underneath his skin. It's an odd-looking piece of equipment, but one that could save his life if another incident occurs.

You can also see the wire that runs from the defibrillator directly to his heart as Lockyer outlines it along his chest.

For a guy who essentially died for nearly three minutes on the field, Lockyer appears to be in great spirits, but it was truly a nightmare scenario for Welsh defender.

"I was running up to the halfway line and went really light-headed. I remember thinking ‘I will be okay in a second’ and eventually I wasn’t," Lockyer told Sky Sports this past weekend. "I woke up and the paramedics and everyone were everywhere," he explained. "I was a little bit disorientated, couldn’t speak or move, I was just trying to work out what was happening. "While that was going on I remember thinking ‘I could be dying here’ and it’s quite a surreal thought thinking that and not being able to move and respond."

Lockyer is no stranger to collapsing in the middle of matches as he suffered a scare in May 2023 as well during Luton Town's Championship playoff final.

Luton Town's match against Bournemouth was abandoned with the score at 1-1 following Lockyer's collapse on the pitch.

The Hatters find themselves sitting at 18th in the Premier League table, their first in England's top tier since 1992. 
 

Tags
Written by

Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and all other happenings in the world of golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.