Tom Lockyer: Bristol Rovers defender on emotion of his return after two years out

Lockyer is keen to reiterate that if it was not safe for him, he would not be back playing.

He now has a small defibrillator implanted in his chest and has had his heart monitored via an ECG (electrocardiogram) test for the past two years every time he exercises.

“I’ve said before, I don’t want to be a hero that dies on a football pitch,” he said.

“If there was any risk at all that I felt or my family felt or they weren’t comfortable with anything, I wouldn’t be doing it.”

He is also not thinking much beyond playing for the Gas until the end of this season.

“What I didn’t want to do was commit too long and be letting anyone down,” he said.

“If I came back and was like, ‘I’m not the same player I thought I was going to be, you don’t have that desire, you don’t have that fight in you’ – I still feel like I’ve got that fight and that desire so what we will do is get to the end of the season and see from there,” added Lockyer.

“I’m happy with how I’ve settled so far.”