London, UK

The Premier League contest between Luton Town and Bournemouth on Saturday (Dec 16) was suspended after Tom Lockyer collapsed on the field. The incident occurred during the 59th minute of the match when Lockyer went down on the turf holding his head. Referee Simon Hooper quickly stopped the contest and adviced the medical team to take control of the situation at the Vitality Stadium as the play was called off with the scores tied at 1-1.

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What was the incident?

During the second half of the match, Bournemouth successfully defended a Luton attack and hooked the ball clear. While the ball was at the half way point of the pitch, Luton skipper Lockyear went down raising concerns in the stadium. Players and medical staff then rushed to the player’s rescue while referee Hooper decided to call of the contest. Both, players and fans were left stunned at the Premier League ground as there were worrying signs for Lockyer.

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“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.

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“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.

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“We thank everyone for the wonderful applause and singing of Locks’ name inside the stadium at such a difficult time. Now is the time for all of our players, staff and supporters to come together as we always do and give our love and support to Tom and his family. Our thoughts are with him and them all,” a detailed statement on the club’s website read.