Premier League 2023-24: Luton’s Tom Lockyer is ‘at peace’ with the prospect of retirement

Tom Lockyer, the Premier League player who suffered an on-field cardiac arrest earlier this season, says he is “at peace” with the prospect of having to retire from the sport.

The Luton captain had a defibrillator fitted after collapsing during a game against Bournemouth in December. He had previously collapsed seven months earlier during a game at Wembley Stadium because he suffered atrial fibrillation.

The 29-year-old Lockyer, who recently became a father for the first time, has not given up hope of resuming his playing career. But he accepts that may not be possible.

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“I’ve made no secret saying I would love to return to football, but ultimately it would have to come down to someone who’s a cardiologist or a specialist who has done full research into what has gone on and if it could happen again, because we’ve got a little girl now and she takes priority,” Lockyer told BBC Radio Wales.

“I would love to play football again, of course I would, it’s my life but if it’s the case that I can’t, then I’m at peace with that as well.”