Ex-Charlton defender Tom Lockyer required heart surgery after play-off final collapse

Former Charlton defender Tom Lockyer has revealed he required heart surgery to address the issue which saw him collapse in the eighth minute of Luton Town’s play-off final win over Coventry.

Welsh centre-back Lockyer was diagnosed with an atrial fibrillation, which, according to the NHS, is “an irregular and often abnormally fast heart rate”.

The 28-year-old made 43 appearances during his time at The Valley before leaving for Kenilworth Road in 2020.

Luton won 6-5 on penalties to secure promotion to the Premier League for the first time.

“I’ve had the operation to fix it, and it shouldn’t happen again,” Lockyer said.

“I remember running backwards, and then I went really light-headed and my legs went really weak straight away, as I was running back. I remember stumbling back, and then all I remember was [physiotherapist] Chris Phillips over the top of me, and he was saying: ‘Locks, you’re coming off’.

“I was like: ‘No mate, no mate, I’m fine’.

“But he was saying: ‘No, it’s serious Locks – you’ve collapsed – you’re coming off’. Then it dawned on me that I was on the floor and this is actually serious.

“I just got really emotional. I couldn’t stop crying on the floor.

“It was probably a lot worse for everyone else watching than it was for me because as soon as I came back around, I was fine. I never really felt in any danger and it definitely wasn’t as bad as it looked.

“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.”