“It’s still very raw,” said Rob Edwards to no great surprise given his demeanour. The Luton manager was clearly tired and emotional, his words lacking their usual zest and positivity. Instead he was quiet, measured, downbeat and, it is safe to say, in no real mood to be at his weekly press conference. But he was here because he knew he needed to speak about the moment that gripped his club a week ago and refuses to let go.
It was during the 59th minute of Luton’s trip to Bournemouth last Saturday that everything changed. Out of nowhere Tom Lockyer, the visiting captain, collapsed. Play was immediately halted and both sets of players were taken off the pitch as he received medical treatment. A sense of shock, horror, fear and panic gripped and began to ease only when word came through, with the match abandoned at 1-1, that Lockyer was conscious and responsive having been taken to hospital. He had suffered a cardiac arrest but, thankfully, was through the worst.
