Bristol Rovers head coach Darrell Clarke has confirmed that former defender Tom Lockyer has been training with the club following his exit from Luton Town earlier this week.
News emerged earlier this week that the 30-year-old had returned to his roots as he looks to secure his next club. After suffering a cardiac arrest during Luton’s Premier League clash against AFC Bournemouth in December 2023, it’s been a long road back for the Welsh international.
Prior to leaving Kenilworth Road, Lockyer had featured for Luton’s under-21 side over the past month in order to build up match fitness.
Clarke Confirms Lockyer Training With Squad
Clarke was in charge when Lockyer was first with the Gas, where he played a pivotal role in their back-to-back promotions in 2015 and 2015. This saw Rovers rise from the National League to League One, with the centre-back finally leaving the Memorial Stadium in 2019 when he joined Championship outfit Charlton Athletic.
Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s visit of Milton Keynes Dons, the head coach confirmed that his former player was training with the squad:
“I have managed some good players in my time here, but I always thought Locks was going to be the one that made it potentially to the highest level.
“His work, his effort, his desire, his application to win every single day in training and matches and winning at life, you know, he is a lad that does not get beaten. He epitomises everything that the fans love about this football club as well so I am sure they will be pleased to know that he is doing a bit of training with us as well. So, that will please our supporters and we will see how things develop.”
It seems only fitting to bring this video back to your timeline of Tom Lockyer winding up the Bristol City fans after a late Luton equaliser…😂#UTG pic.twitter.com/aIdVPKNha4
— The Real EFL (@RealEFLSocial) October 8, 2025
Continuing, Clarke revealed that he had kept in touch with Lockyer, who is now ready to continue his football journey after a horrific couple of years:
“Tom I have always kept in touch with and obviously he has had a busy summer with all his testing and getting fit after his ankle problem and he has come in to do some training with us which, I am delighted to have him around here and so are the boys.
“Tom is a player that I obviously had at a very young age. He became a captain and a player I had so much admiration for, not only as a player but as a lad as well. What he has been through and his family has been through, to come out the other end of it epitomises everything that I love about the lad. That resilience, that character and that determination, drive, and he has had a great career and he wants to kick on in that career. He is 30 now so he is coming in to do a bit of training with us.
“He is somebody that everybody looks up to, isn’t he, for what he has been through in his life and the career he has had so far, but he wants to continue that journey.”
Writer’s View
Bristol Rovers have recovered from a slow start to find their feet in League Two. Their pre-season ambitions were to secure immediate promotion back to League One and they have looked like they are ready to mount a serious challenge in the past few weeks.
Should Lockyer return to the fold, that will only enhance their chances. If he can rediscover the kind of form he was showing prior to his cardiac arrest, he is at least a Championship quality player. The news that he is training with the squad has already excited fans, who will be hoping their former captain is in the stands tomorrow afternoon.
