Tom Lockyer: Luton Town boss Rob Edwards provides update on Hatters captain's condition following cardiac arrest and pays tribute to 'special' Bournemouth for their swift actions

The players were pulled off the pitch as the captain of the Hatters got care when he collapsed during the second half of the match against the Cherries, and the match was eventually called off. The 29-year-old was given an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD), the same device that Christian Eriksen had after going into cardiac arrest at Euro 2020. He was subsequently released from the hospital. After the game was abandoned, all of the spectators at Vitality Stadium came together to applaud Lockyer. Luton players and staff, including a very upset Edwards, even went back out onto the field to cheer the supporters.

While speaking ahead of the Hatters' clash against Newcastle, Edwards said: "It's been a difficult week for everyone. His family have been the main concern all week and then it's the players and staff that have been affected. All that matters is that he's come through and he's home. It is about him recovering, it is all we care about. Supporting the operation with the ICD being fitted, then we will see going forward what this means."

Edwards added: "I need to say thank you to everyone at Bournemouth, a special mention to Phillip Billing who reacted quickly. We'll have a special bond with the club going forward."

The 40-year-old also talked about the club's preparation for the coming game: "We already had a plan to have a few days off after the game, so we've stuck to that plan. We spoke about what he [Tom Lockyer] means to us and we want to embody that as a team. If we can all act, behave play like Tom going forward, we'll be going the right way."

This was the second time Lockyer faced a similar event as he also collapsed in the first-half of Luton's triumph against Coventry in the Championship play-off final in May. The club has disclosed that the two incidents are not connected to each other as the earlier one was an atrial fibrillation.

The Hatters will next take on Newcastle United on Saturday, December 23 as they look to put aside the Lockyer incident. They will be looking to get some more points on the board as they sit 18th in the league, five points behind Nottingham Forest.