Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Rico Antonio Henry[1] | ||
Date of birth | [2] | 8 July 1997||
Place of birth | Birmingham, England | ||
Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[3] | ||
Position(s) | Left-back[4] | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Brentford | ||
Number | 3 | ||
Youth career | |||
Cadbury Athletic | |||
–2014 | Walsall | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2014–2016 | Walsall | 46 | (2) |
2016– | Brentford | 186 | (5) |
International career | |||
2015–2016 | England U19 | 4 | (0) |
2017 | England U20 | 3 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:47, 8 January 2024 (UTC) |
Rico Antonio Henry (born 8 July 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Premier League club Brentford. He is a product of the Walsall academy and represented England at U19 and U20 level.
After a spell with Cadbury Athletic and failing a trial with Aston Villa,[5][6] Henry joined Walsall at age 11 and at age 14 he was converted from a central midfielder to a left back.[7][8] He progressed through the youth ranks to make his first non-competitive senior appearance for the club shortly after his 16th birthday, in a pre-season friendly against Leeds United in July 2013.[7] One year later, he signed his first professional contract after impressing for the club's youth team.[9] Henry received his maiden calls into the first team squad for two League One matches in September and October 2014 respectively,[10] before making his competitive debut with a start in a Football League Trophy northern area semi-final shootout win over Tranmere Rovers on 9 December.[11] He made his league debut four days later, playing the full 90 minutes of a 3–1 victory over Barnsley.[11] Henry made eight further appearances during the 2014–15 season,[11] but his progress was disrupted by a dislocated shoulder.[12] He signed a two-year contract extension in April 2015 and was named as Walsall's Young Player of the Year.[13][14]
Henry broke into the starting line-up on a full-time basis during the 2015–16 season.[15] He had a successful season, making 44 appearances, scoring three goals, signing a new three-year contract and winning England youth international recognition.[15][16] Walsall consistently challenged for promotion during the season and finished in third position to qualify for a place in the 2016 League One play-offs,[17] but Henry's season ended with a 6–1 aggregate defeat to the eventually-promoted club Barnsley in the semi-finals.[15] He was recognised for his performances during the season, winning the September 2015 Football League Young Player of the Month award,[18] in addition to being named in the League One PFA Team of the Year and receiving a nomination for the Football League Young Player of the Year award.[19]
Henry made three early-2016–17 season appearances,[20][15] before suffering a dislocation to the same shoulder previously injured in February 2015 after half an hour of 0–0 draw with Oldham Athletic on 13 August 2016.[12] The Oldham appearance proved to be Henry's last for Walsall and he departed the Bescot Stadium on 31 August.[21] He made 57 appearances and scored three goals for the club.[22]
On 31 August 2016, Henry signed for Championship club Brentford for an initial fee of £1.5m on a five-year contract,[23] rising to £5 million.[21] The transfer reunited Henry with former Walsall manager Dean Smith and the fee made him the Bees' record transfer fee paid for a teenager.[23] He underwent surgery on the dislocated shoulder on 8 September and after returning to fitness, he made his first Brentford appearance on 21 February 2017,[24] with a start in a 2–1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday.[25] He immediately replaced Tom Field as head coach Dean Smith's first-choice left-back and made 12 appearances before his season was ended by a knee injury suffered in training in early May 2017.[25][26]
Henry returned fit for the start of the 2017–18 season,[27] but his season was ended on his eighth appearance by an anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered in a 2–2 draw with Middlesbrough on 30 September 2017,[8] which required surgery.[28] Henry returned to full-contact training in October 2018 and on 24 November,[29] he made his first appearance for nearly 14 months, coincidentally against Middlesbrough, with a late substitute appearance in a 2–1 defeat.[30] He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 win over Stoke City on 12 January 2019 and his performances throughout the month led to his nomination for the PFA Fans' Player of the Month award.[31] A foot injury suffered in February saw Henry miss two months of the season and he finished an injury-affected campaign with 16 appearances and one goal.[30][32]
Henry began the 2019–20 season fully fit and signed a new four-year contract in August 2019.[33] He made a career-high 51 appearances during the season, which culminated in defeat in the 2020 Championship play-off final.[34] By the time Henry's 2020–21 season was disrupted by a torn hamstring suffered in February 2021,[8] he had appeared in all but one league match so far during the campaign.[35] Henry returned for the end-of-season playoffs, but after making a substitute cameo in the semi-final first leg versus AFC Bournemouth,[35] he was ruled out for the remainder of the season with a meniscus tear.[8] In his absence, Brentford were promoted to the Premier League with victory in the 2021 Championship play-off final.[36] In recognition of his performances during the 2020–21 season, Henry was named in the PFA Championship Team of the Year.[37]
Henry began the 2021–22 Premier League season as an ever-present at left wing back and he scored in successive league matches in November 2021,[38] which doubled his goalscoring tally for the club.[22] In March 2022, Henry signed a new four-year contract, with the option of a further year and finished a mid-table 2021–22 season with 37 appearances and three goals.[38][39][40] He improved his appearance tally to 39 appearances in all competitions during the 2022–23 season.[41]
Henry started the 2023–24 as an ever-present in league matches, but on his fifth appearance, in a 1–0 defeat to Newcastle United on 16 September 2023,[42] he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury.[43][44]
While an U12, Henry was a member of the England team that competed at the 2008 Danone Nations Cup.[5] On 10 November 2015, Henry received his first call-up to the England U19 squad for friendly matches against the Netherlands and Japan.[45] He won four caps at U19 level.[46] Henry was named in England's U20 squad for the 2017 Four Nations Tournament and appeared in all three matches as the Young Lions won the competition.[47] Henry was named in the England squad for the 2017 U20 World Cup, but was forced to withdraw due to injury.[48]
Henry has been described as "a forward-thinking, modern-day full-back, with energy, pace and a keen defensive awareness".[49]
Henry was born in Birmingham, West Midlands and watched both Aston Villa and Birmingham City as a youth.[6][50] He attended St George's Church of England Primary School and Lordswood Boys' School in Birmingham.[5]
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Walsall | 2014–15[11] | League One | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 10 | 0 |
2015–16[15] | League One | 35 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2[b] | 0 | 44 | 3 | |
2016–17[25] | League One | 2 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
Total | 46 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 57 | 3 | ||
Brentford | 2016–17[25] | Championship | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 0 | ||
2017–18[27] | Championship | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | ||
2018–19[30] | Championship | 14 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 16 | 1 | ||
2019–20[34] | Championship | 46 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3[c] | 0 | 51 | 0 | |
2020–21[35] | Championship | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 35 | 1 | |
2021–22[38] | Premier League | 34 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 37 | 3 | ||
2022–23[41] | Premier League | 37 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 39 | 0 | ||
2023–24[42] | Premier League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | ||
Total | 186 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 203 | 5 | ||
Career total | 232 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 260 | 8 |
England U20
Individual