Luton Town have confirmed that captain Tom Lockyer has been taken to hospital and is "responsive" after collapsing during the Hatters' Premier League match at Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon.
Rob Edwards's side hit the front on the South coast after three minutes thanks to a strike from striker Elijah Adebayo, who also scored in the loss to Manchester City last weekend.
Aiming to extend their unbeaten streak to six matches, the Cherries restored parity in the contest courtesy of forward Dominic Solanke, netting his ninth league goal of the term.
With the match heading into its final 30 minutes, all focus turned away from footballing matters and towards the health of Luton captain Lockyer, who collapsed off the ball.
The contest was stopped after a few seconds as Bournemouth substitute Philip Billing alerted referee Simon Hooper to the situation, with medical staff rushing onto the pitch to attend to the Wales international.
After being put onto a stretcher, Lockyer was taken off the field of play and straight to hospital, with the match being abandoned just after the hour mark.
Luton have since released a statement on their official X account, providing an update on Lockyer's condition and thanking all of the fans in attendance at the Vitality Stadium for their support.
© Reuters
"We all hope and pray for our leader and captain Tom Lockyer, who is thankfully responsive and has been taken to hospital," read a club statement on Saturday evening.
"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 teammate 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 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."
Lockyer collapsed during Luton's playoff-final clash with Coventry City at Wembley in June, when the Hatters sealed a place in the Premier League for the first time.
The 29-year-old has been a regular figure in Edwards's side as they attempt to avoid an immediate return to the Championship, starting 15 of the club's 16 top-flight matches so far this season.
Carter White
