Bristol Rovers boss Darrell Clarke outlines Tom Lockyer plans as defender returns to full fitness
Tom Lockyer, who suffered a cardiac arrest in 2023, captained Bristol Rovers in last week’s 2-1 win against Bromley in the FA Cup
16:23, 07 Nov 2025
Tom Lockyer has returned to Bristol Rovers(Image: Bristol Rovers FC)
Tom Lockyer has started his first two games since it was announced that he was returning to Bristol Rovers late last month. The Welsh centre-back played 57 minutes in the 4-0 defeat at Crawley Town, before playing 65 minutes in last week’s 2-1 win against Bromley in the FA Cup.
Lockyer’s appearance at Crawley was his first since December 2023 when he suffered a cardiac arrest in a Premier League match between Luton Town and AFC Bournemouth.
His return to competitive action was delayed in December 2024 when he damaged ankle ligaments a week before he was set to make a return for the Hatters.
The 30-year-old maintained his fitness at Luton before he departed the club in October, and shortly after, Dan Hargraves announced on X that he was training with Darrell Clarke’s side.
His return to the Gas was officially announced on October 23, and while he has made two appearances so far, he has not played a full 90 minutes.
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In his pre-match press conference, Clarke told Bristol Live how important it will be to manage the fitness of the experienced centre-back ahead of a busy period of games. He said: “I’ve just got to be treading carefully with Locks – his hamstring got a little bit tight on Saturday, so we’re just managing minutes.
“It’s not easy to make those decisions, trust me, when you’re in a game, when you’ve got your most experienced player on the pitch and you have to take him off. You’ve got to be careful because I don’t want to lose him for four to six weeks with a hamstring [injury] or something, so we just have to monitor that as it goes on a day to day, game by game basis.”
Lockyer also discussed his fitness during an exclusive interview with BBC Radio Bristol released on 6th November. When asked about his fitness during the game against Crawley, the centre-back said: “It’s different. I think you can train for as long and hard as you want but it’s never the same as an actual game. I think, up until the sending off I felt quite comfortable, I felt that we were never really going to get threatened and obviously the sending off changed the game there.
“To be honest, from what the lads have said that’s probably the worst team for that to happen against – the way Crawley move the ball and try and play football. So, yeah it was always going to be a long afternoon after that and we have to be sensible with these things. I’ve been out a long time, so the last thing I want to do now is be too energetic and too emotional and all in and end up doing something that we could potentially regret.
“Got to build the minutes up without being silly with it, but hopefully I’m not too far away now.”
The Gas ended October pointless in League Two, conceding 14 against Walsall, MK Dons, Tranmere Rovers and Tranmere Rovers. Clarke’s side currently sit six points behind the play-off positions, but know that a good run of form will catapult them up the table given the competitiveness of the division.
In fact, only five points separate the top half of the table, with no team breaking out of the pack so far. When asked about how tight League Two is at the top, Clarke said: “What I’d say is I think it’s a very competitive league. I think there are very similar teams of an equal standard and that means sometimes – as easy as it is to lose three or four games – it can be just the same to win those games as well.
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“We concentrate on us, though. We need to make sure that our consistency is at the level that we’re picking up more wins.”
Saturday could prove to be a decisive day for the Gas, as they could close the gap to Gillingham to two points, with Gareth Ainsworth’s side currently in eighth. The Gills are also on a bad run of form, as they are winless in seven in all competitions, setting up a tense afternoon at the Memorial Stadium.
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