Luton Town captain Tom Lockyer is hopeful of resuming his career after undergoing rehabilitation with heart specialists in the Netherlands, according to reports.
Lockyer, 29, said at the end of last season that he was ‘at peace’ with retirement should doctors tell him to quit following his cardiac arrest in December 2023.
The defender’s heart had stopped for more than two-and-a-half minutes during a Premier League match at Bournemouth, seven months after he collapsed at Wembley during the Championship play-off victory against Coventry City.
He was fitted with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) to regulate his abnormal heart rhythm and is eyeing up a return to the sport, The Sun have claimed.
Lockyer has not trained since returning from Amsterdam with Rob Edwards’ side beginning their Championship campaign against Burnley on August 12.
Luton’s Tom Lockyer is hopeful of resuming his career after rehabbing with heart specialists
Lockyer suffered a cardiac arrest during a Premier League match at Bournemouth last year
He said he was ‘at peace’ with retirement but has taken steps to explore a return to football
It is said that Lockyer has visited Professor Sanjay Shah, a cardiologist based in London who helped Christian Eriksen return after his cardiac arrest at Euro 2020.
Manchester United midfielder Eriksen, who collapsed while playing for Denmark in June 2021, was also fitted with an ICD and missed nine months of action.
In May, Lockyer admitted a decision over whether he can play again will be out of his hands. He said: ‘At any stage, the cardiologist could say you can’t play again.
‘I am at peace with that though if that is to happen. I’d just look at it as a positive that I am still here, not that I can’t play again.
‘A decision is out of my hands. I would love to play again, I’ve made no secret in saying that but it would have to be done safely.
‘I feel safer than I’ve ever felt before. I’ve got a defibrillator in my side. Ultimately the decision is not with me.
‘I’m incredibly fortunate to have had a 10-year career that saw me play in every league, non-League, to the Premier League and scored in every one.
‘I’ve got 14 caps for Wales, too. It’s more than I ever thought.’
Lockyer has also visited Professor Sanjay Shah, a cardiologist based in London
He showed off the scar where his implantable cardioverter-defibrillator was fitted live on TV
Reflecting on his cardiac arrest while on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Lockyer vividly recalled believing he could die before medics saved his life.
He said: ‘There was no doubt this time and I kind of knew as well which is why when I started coming round and I couldn’t move or speak, the staff there on site were more in “go-mode”. They were focused and it was very serious.
‘That’s when I was like, “wow, I could be dying”. Obviously when you’re lying there and you can’t speak and can’t move, it’s not a nice feeling to have.
‘But when I could move and speak, I felt fine, which is the mad thing. I wasn’t in any sort of pain. My heart got back into rhythm thanks to the incredible medical staff.
‘I’m so lucky it happened where it did because if it was to happen outside of hospital or a football pitch, the survival rate is only one in 10.’