Former Luton Town captain Tom Lockyer has returned to professional football after signing for League 2 side Bristol Rovers.

The 30-year-old has signed a deal until the end of the season with the Pirates, returning to the Memorial Stadium six years after leaving the club.

Lockyer’s signature with the Bristolians marks his return to professional football after a two year absence from the game, with the defender having not played at all since suffering a cardiac arrest on the pitch during a Premier League match between Bournemouth and Luton just before Christmas 2023.

The defender had remained with Luton during his recovery, but left earlier this month in order to return to a professional football career. He had stayed with the Hatters after the end of his Luton contract at the end of last season, making 3 appearances in reserve matches before leaving the club.

After leaving Luton, Lockyer had joined up with the side from Bristol and has now put pen to paper on a full contract.

He told the Bristol Rovers website of his happiness to return to the club and return to playing.

He said, “It feels really, really good to once again be a Bristol Rovers player. Obviously I’ve been training here for a while and I’ve tried not to think too much about it or get too excited about the ifs, buts and maybes. But as soon as I knew that Darrell wanted to get something done, it was easy for me to then make a decision about coming back home.

“It is so hard to explain but it’s everything I’ve worked so hard for over the last two years. Hopefully I can have many, many more good memories in a football shirt. I’m going to celebrate the little wins back on a football pitch and I just want to enjoy it. I wouldn’t be doing this otherwise. I’m doing this because I love playing football and I’ve got that massive desire to play football again, and what better place to do that than back home at Bristol Rovers.”

Lockyer had made 117 appearances for Luton Town after joining the club from Charlton Athletic in 2020, including scoring 7 goals. The defender was appointed Luton club captain and was part of the team that helped Luton win promotion to the Premier League in the 2022/23 season, although their victory in the play-off final over Coventry was marred when Lockyer was taken to hospital after collapsing in the early stages of the game with atrial fibrillation, which ultimately required surgery.

After returning from that, Lockyer returned to playing, scoring his first Premier League goal in a win over Everton in October 2023 and making 14 appearances in the top flight of English football before the medical incident that halted his career for two years.