29 May 2023 , 18:54
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Luton captain Tom Lockyer was forced to watch his team's promotion parade from a hospital bed, two days after collapsing during their all-important Championship play-off final.
Lockyer had to be substituted just 12 minutes into Saturday's Wembley clash with Coventry after falling to the ground with no one around him. The Wales international centre-back, 28, received treatment on the pitch and was soon stretchered off before being taken to hospital, where he was able to enjoy watching Luton claim a dramatic penalty-shootout victory alongside his family.
By Monday, though, Lockyer still wasn't in a fit enough state to leave medical supervision and had to watch even more celebrations from his hospital bed. On social media, now Premier League club Luton shared an image of their captain sitting with his thumb up watching the Hatters' bus parade on television. The club added in a caption: "Love you, Locks."
Luton's squad held up Lockyer's shirt throughout their celebrations on Saturday, as the 28-year-old later issued an update on his condition via Instagram. "Well not quite where I thought I'd be celebrating at the final whistle," Lockyer wrote. "I would just like to say a massive thank you to the amazing physios and doctors at Luton and Wembley for the swift and thorough response.
"A much scarier moment for everyone else than myself I am sure! Commiserations to Coventry a fantastic opponent over 3 games which had to be decided by penalties.
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Luton's players enjoyed an open top bus parade to toast their playoff victory on Monday (AFP via Getty Images)"I am currently in hospital under precaution and will stay here overnight for further tests in the morning. I am feeling very much myself, helped by the way the lads left it all out on pitch! It's such an honour to be part of this team... Premier League baby."
Lockyer's influence on the Hatters throughout their previous 48 games is unquestionable, helping them end their 31-year wait to return to English football's top tier. Luton took the lead through Jordan Clark in the first half before Coventry hit back thanks to Gustavo Hamer with just under half an hour of normal time to play.
Fans lined the streets to celebrate Luton's triumph (NEIL HALL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)It ultimately came down to penalties, with Coventry right-back Fankaty Dabo agonisingly missing the crucial spot kick which confirmed Luton's place in the Premier League. Post-match, Hatters manager Rob Edwards explained that his players were spurred on to win for Lockyer.
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"It was a case of focusing and doing it for Locks," Edwards declared after full-time. "That was the message. I know it was really tough. In that moment, I didn't know what to think.
"I was thinking, 'our captain has had to go off after four or five minutes and maybe it's not going to be our day'. After losing our best player, to recover from that, seeing how Locks went off, I thought the lads showed a lot of mental strength and resilience and character to perform like that."