* Club domestic league appearances and goalsas of 23:18, 24 August 2025 (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 Walsallacademy and began his senior career with the club. Henry transferred to Brentford in 2016 and passed 200 appearances for the club in August 2023.[5] He represented England at U19 and U20 level.
After a spell with Cadbury Athletic and failing a trial with Aston Villa,[6][7] Henry joined Walsall at age 11 and at age 14 he was converted from a central midfielder to a left back.[8][9] 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-seasonfriendly versus Leeds United in July 2013.[8] One year later, he signed his first professional contract after impressing for the club's youth team.[10] Henry received his maiden calls into the first team squad for two League One matches in September and October 2014 respectively,[11] 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.[12] He made his league debut four days later, playing the full 90 minutes of a 3–1 victory over Barnsley.[12] Henry made eight further appearances during the 2014–15 season,[12] but his progress was disrupted by a dislocated shoulder.[13] He signed a two-year contract extension in April 2015 and was named as Walsall's Young Player of the Year.[14][15]
Henry broke into the starting line-up on a full-time basis during the 2015–16 season.[16] He had a successful season, making 44 appearances, scoring three goals, signing a new three-year contract and winning England youth international recognition.[16][17] 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,[18] but Henry's season ended with a 6–1 aggregate defeat to the eventually-promoted club Barnsley in the semi-finals.[16] He was recognised for his performances during the season, winning the September 2015 Football League Young Player of the Month award,[19] 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.[20]
Henry made three early-2016–17 season appearances,[21][16] 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.[13] The Oldham appearance proved to be Henry's last for Walsall and he departed the Bescot Stadium on 31 August.[22] He made 57 appearances and scored three goals for the club.[23]
On 31 August 2016, Henry signed for Championship club Brentford for an initial fee of £1.5m on a five-year contract,[24] rising to £5million.[22] The transfer reunited Henry with former Walsall manager Dean Smith and the fee made him the Bees' record transfer fee paid for a teenager.[24] 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,[25] with a start in a 2–1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday.[26] 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.[26][27]
Henry returned fit for the start of the 2017–18 season,[28] 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,[9] which required surgery.[29] Henry returned to full-contact training in October 2018 and on 24 November,[30] he made his first appearance for nearly 14 months, coincidentally against Middlesbrough, with a late substitute appearance in a 2–1 defeat.[31] 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.[32] 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.[31][33]
Henry began the 2019–20 season fully fit and signed a new four-year contract in August 2019.[34] He made a career-high 51 appearances during the season, which culminated in defeat in the 2020 Championship play-off final.[35] By the time Henry's 2020–21 season was disrupted by a torn hamstring suffered in February 2021,[9] he had appeared in all but one league match so far during the campaign.[36] Henry returned for the end-of-season playoffs, but after making a substitute cameo in the semi-final first leg versus AFC Bournemouth,[36] he was ruled out for the remainder of the season with a meniscus tear.[9] In his absence, Brentford were promoted to the Premier League with victory in the 2021 Championship play-off final.[37] In recognition of his performances during the 2020–21 season, Henry was named in the PFA Championship Team of the Year.[38]
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,[39] which doubled his goalscoring tally for the club.[23] 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.[39][40][41] He improved his appearance tally to 39 appearances in all competitions during the 2022–23 season.[42]
Henry started the 2023–24 season as an ever-present in league matches, but he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury on his fifth appearance,[43][44] in a 1–0 defeat to Newcastle United on 16 September 2023.[45] He returned to full training in August 2024,[46] but a "minor setback" the following month put his return to full training back to 4 October 2024.[47][48] Following involvement in unpublicised behind closed doors matches,[49] Henry returned to competitive match play with a start in a 1–0 FA Cup third round defeat to Plymouth Argyle on 11 January 2025.[50] After one further appearance,[51] he missed 2+1⁄2 months with a hamstring injury.[52][53] After recovering, he made four appearances during the remainder of the 2024–25 season, all as a substitute.[54]
International career
Born in England, Henry is of Jamaican descent.[55] While an U12, he was a member of the England team that competed at the 2008 Danone Nations Cup.[6] On 10 November 2015, Henry received his first call-up to the England U19 squad for friendly matches against the Netherlands and Japan.[56] He won four caps at U19 level.[57] 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.[58] Henry was named in the England squad for the 2017 U20 World Cup, but was forced to withdraw due to injury.[59]
Style of play
Henry has been described as "a forward-thinking, modern-day full-back, with energy, pace and a keen defensive awareness".[60]
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