Tom Lockyer said having a daughter has changed “everything for me” as his future on the pitch remains uncertain.
The Luton Town captain, 29, collapsed in the 59th minute of his side’s Premier League match against Bournemouth on 16 December, with his father and pregnant girlfriend watching on.
He was fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator in December, and told Sky Sports in February that he “literally died” as his heart stopped beating for two minutes and 40 seconds.
Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, the Wales international announced he is now a father and that “it’s changed my world if I’m being honest”.
“There’s a complete different perspective on everything,” he said. “I’m doing well and she’s doing well, and that’s the main thing.”
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Lockyer also said that his first thoughts after being revived at the Vitality Stadium were: “My missus is in the crowd and she’s seven months pregnant, god knows how she’s feeling,” and “is it going to affect the baby in any way?”
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The defender added: “It’s almost given me a little bit of a different perspective: Before I was like ‘football is the most important thing in the world, there’s nothing better than football… football is the only thing that matters here’.
“And then this little girl comes along and changes everything for me.”
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Lockyer did add in the podcast that he still wants to play football again, but said “ultimately we’ll be led by the specialists’ advice”.
Career ‘out of my hands’
Gary Lineker noted that specialists had cleared the Luton captain to return after he collapsed on the pitch against Coventry last May, and asked whether there were any doubts should he be given the all-clear again.
“This has happened once after saying that I’ve got the okay,” Lockyer said. “If this happens again, you know, that’s on them, isn’t it?
“There’s no way – if there’s any sliver of doubt, I don’t think they’ll let me play. If there is a chance to play again, I would love to.
“I’ve worked my whole career to try and reach the top. I was playing non-league, League Two, League One, Championship, finally get to the Premier League, get a taste of the good life… I just want more of it.
“It’s out of my hands, unfortunately, and I will ultimately be led by whatever they say.”
