Rico Henry

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 a "significant" knee injury.[43]