Luton Town’s Tom Lockyer will attend his side’s game at Bournemouth to thank medics who saved his life after he suffered a cardiac arrest at the venue.
The Premier League game was abandoned, with the re-arranged match taking place at the Vitality Stadium on Wednesday.
“It will be emotional going back and reliving that experience but we know we have to do it,” said Luton manager Rob Edwards on Tuesday.
Luton captain Lockyer has not played since his cardiac arrest, with the defender previously telling how he was “technically dead” for nearly three minutes.
He was hospitalised for five days and was subsequently fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator.
On Wednesday, Lockyer will thank the medical team who saved his life before being presented to the crowd at half-time.
There are also plans for a minute’s applause in tribute to the medics who resuscitated Lockyer.
“They are the true heroes,” added Edwards, whose side sit 18th in the table, three points from safety.
“It is only football and there are more important things, but what those guys did in the most pressurised moment was incredible and they deserve all the attention and affection that they are going to get.
“It was a really difficult experience that we all went through. The main thing now is that Locks is okay and the silver lining is that some good will have come from it with more awareness on CPR and the importance of knowing what to do in those emergency situations.”
‘I’m happy to know he is doing well’
Bournemouth fans have raised more than £2,000 to put on four coaches for Luton fans to make the 240-mile round-trip from Bedfordshire to the south coast for the re-arranged game.
Cherries boss Andoni Iraola said he was looking forward to seeing Lockyer.
“Since the first seconds [after] it happened, everyone was very clear that the most important thing that mattered was for him to recover,” said the Spaniard.
“The most important thing is he is much better. He has recovered well and I am happy to know that he is doing well.
“It will be amazing if he comes and we can see him. I am happy to know he is doing well.”
Bournemouth are 11 points clear of the relegation zone and will go level on points with 12th-placed Fulham with a win.
The Dorset club have come together with the Cherries Trust and Talking Cherries, with the aim of raising awareness around cardiac health.
There will be representatives from the Bournemouth Heart Club situated around the stadium, offering information and advice around cardiac health and the services they offer locally.
“We want to make the game easier for everyone,” Gayle Hope from the Cherries Trust told BBC South Today.
“There’s going to be a high level of anxiety and it’ll invoke memories from the day when it happened. It’ll basically be the same crowd that were there on the day.”
There will also be mental health first aiders in attendance, as support for people who may struggle with anxiety on the day.
