Luton Town’s Premier League match with Bournemouth was abandoned after Hatter’s captain Tom Lockyer collapsed on the pitch.
Medics raced onto the field to treat the defender after he fell to the ground in the 62nd minute of the top-flight clash.
The club has since said he suffered cardiac arrest. Mr Lockyer was responsive by the time he left the pitch and has been transferred to hospital, where he is in a “stable” condition, the club said in a statement.
He was due to undergo “further tests with his family at his bedside. We would like to thank everyone for their support, concern and loving messages for Locks,” the statement added.
Concerned players stand around as defender recieves treatment— (REUTERS)
During the match, a stretcher was brought out and play was paused with players from both sides sent to their dressing rooms as the Hatters defender, who remained on the ground, was treated on the pitch after falling to the ground.
He was then removed from the field of play on a stretcher surrounded by the medical team, and there was a standing ovation from the crowd. The game was subsequently abandoned.
It t is not the first time the 29-year-old has collapsed on the pitch. In May he was taken to hospital after collapsing during his side’s play-off win against Coventry.
He suffered an atrial fibrillation - a heart condition that causes an irregular and often abnormally fast heart rate. Symptoms include dizziness, shortness of breath and tiredness.
Tom Lockyer, who is captain at Luton Town, collapsed during Saturday’s game— (PA)
Lockyer later had heart surgery and revealed in June that he had been given the all-clear to play again.
"I’ve had the operation to fix it and it shouldn’t happen again," he told the BBC. “There’s not really any reason to say why that happened.
"I’ve been given the all-clear - it is what it is and I just want to draw a line under it now and move on.
"I’ve had my full heart checked and double checked with all the scans and tests they can do on a heart, and they’ve all come back positive."
According to the British Heart Foundation, atrial fibrillation can be treated to reduce risk. The charity adds that patients manage the condition through eating healthily and being physically active.
