Bournemouth, England – A young player suddenly collapsed without warning during a professional soccer match on Saturday, causing proceedings to be suspended.
As Pro Soccer Wire reported, the English Premier League teams Bournemouth and Luton Town were tied 1-1 going into the 59th minute when Luton’s 29-year-old captain, Tom Lockyer, collapsed near midfield without any contact.
Referee Simon Hooper halted play upon seeing Lockyer on the ground. Shocked players rushed toward Lockyer, and both teams’ medical staff ran onto the pitch seconds later.
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JUST IN: Premier League match between Bournemouth & Luton Town has been abandoned after Hatters captain Tom Lockyer suddenly collapsed.
The incident happened about an hour into the match.
Lockyer collapsed with *no* contact from another player, first falling on his knees and… pic.twitter.com/Db1W5xYJ9M
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) December 16, 2023
Pro Soccer Wire revealed the match was abandoned 25 minutes later, and both teams eventually made their way to their respective locker rooms. The crowd reportedly chanted Lockyer’s name while he was down.
Sky News reports Lockyer was stretchered off the field and taken to a local hospital.
Luton Town posted a statement on X saying that Lockyer is responsive but said they don’t know what caused him to collapse. They also thanked Bournemouth and the medical staff on both sides for their prompt response.
The team also apologized to fans for not being able to continue the match and thanked the crowd for their support of Lockyer and singing his name.
We all hope and pray for our leader and captain Tom Lockyer, who is thankfully responsive and has been taken to hospital.
We don’t know the full extent of what happened and what the next steps are at this stage, but we thank Bournemouth and the medical staff on both sides for their immediate response, which was absolutely amazing.
We are sorry to all supporters present that players from both sides were in no state of mind to continue with the game after seeing their much-loved team-mate and friend taken off like that, and staff could not carry on with managing the game in such circumstances having had to deal with the situation.
We all hope and pray for our leader and captain Tom Lockyer, who is thankfully responsive and has been taken to hospital.
We don’t know the full extent of what happened and what the next steps are at this stage, but we thank Bournemouth and the medical staff on both sides for… pic.twitter.com/pPCuB9ROju
— Luton Town FC (@LutonTown) December 16, 2023
This is not the first time Lockyer has suffered a sudden medical episode on the pitch. During last year’s English Football Championship playoff final between Luton Town and Coventry City, Lockyer fell on the pitch and was immediately subbed out.
He was taken to a hospital and celebrated Luton’s promotion to the Premier League there. Within days, Lockyer said he was cleared to resume playing.
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