Ryan Hedges
Welsh footballer (born 1995)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ryan Peter Hedges (born 8 July 1995) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger or left wing-back for EFL Championship club Blackburn Rovers. Born in England, he played for the Wales national team.
|
Hedges with Aberdeen in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ryan Peter Hedges[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 8 July 1995 | ||
| Place of birth | Northampton, England | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Blackburn Rovers | ||
| Number | 19 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2003–2010 | Everton | ||
| 2010–2013 | Flint Town United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2012–2013 | Flint Town United | 24 | (2) |
| 2013–2017 | Swansea City | 0 | (0) |
| 2015 | → Leyton Orient (loan) | 17 | (2) |
| 2016 | → Stevenage (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | → Yeovil Town (loan) | 21 | (4) |
| 2017–2019 | Barnsley | 52 | (2) |
| 2019–2022 | Aberdeen | 66 | (11) |
| 2022– | Blackburn Rovers | 135 | (8) |
| International career | |||
| 2013–2014 | Wales U19 | 5 | (1) |
| 2014–2016 | Wales U21 | 11 | (0) |
| 2017–2019 | Wales | 3 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 11 January 2026 (UTC) | |||
He made his professional debut for Leyton Orient in January 2015, on loan from Swansea City. After further loan spells at Stevenage and Yeovil Town, Hedges signed permanently for Barnsley in 2017. He joined Scottish Premiership club Aberdeen in June 2019 and later signed for EFL Championship side Blackburn Rovers in January 2022.
Early and personal life
Ryan Peter Hedges was born on 8 July 1995 in Northampton, England. At a young age, he moved abroad to Wales, and would go on to attend Hawarden High School in Hawarden, a village in Flintshire.[2] Michael Owen, Andy Dorman, Gary Speed and Danny Ward are all fellow ex-pupils from the school who would later become professional footballers. Hedges' first involvement with football began with Liverpool-based club Everton, where he spent seven years with the club in youth as a schoolboy, eventually being released at under-16 level in 2010.[citation needed]
Club career
Swansea City
Hedges joined Swansea City from Flint Town in July 2013 following some impressive performances for the Welsh Schools Under-18 team.[3] Hedges linked up with the Swansea City Under-21 team in the 2013–14 season, and was rewarded for his progress with a new one-year contract until June 2014.[4]
In June 2015, Hedges signed a three-year contract extension at Swansea.[5][6]
Leyton Orient (loan)
On 16 January 2015, Hedges joined League One team Leyton Orient on a one-month loan deal.[7] He made his professional debut for Leyton Orient against Colchester United on 24 January 2015.[8] After an impressive start, Hedges' loan was extended until the end of the 2014–15 season.[9] Hedges scored his first professional goal for Leyton Orient, and then set up a goal for Chris Dagnall, in a 2–0 win over Walsall on 28 February 2015.[10] Weeks later on 14 March 2015, Hedges scored his second goal for Leyton Orient in a 3–0 win over Yeovil Town.[11] Hedges went on to make seventeen appearances, scoring twice, as Orient were relegated to League Two.
Stevenage (loan)
In February 2016, Hedges joined Stevenage on a one-month emergency loan.
Yeovil Town (loan)
On 8 July 2016, Hedges signed for League Two side Yeovil Town on a six-month loan deal.[12]
Barnsley
On 31 January 2017, Hedges was recalled from his loan spell at Yeovil,[13] and signed permanently for EFL Championship side Barnsley for an undisclosed fee on a two-and-a-half-year contract.[14] He scored his first goal for Barnsley in a 3–1 loss at Bristol City on 5 August 2017.[15]
Aberdeen
Hedges was offered a new contract by Barnsley at the end of the 2018–19 season,[16] but he instead opted to sign a three-year contract with Scottish Premiership club Aberdeen.[17] On 27 August 2020, he scored a hat-trick as Aberdeen won 6–0 at home against NSÍ Runavík in the Europa League first qualifying round, having only come on as a half-time substitute.[18]
Blackburn Rovers
On 30 January 2022, Hedges joined Blackburn Rovers on a three-and-a-half-year deal, with an optional 12 month extension, for an undisclosed fee.[19] He scored his first goal for the club on 13 September 2022 in a 2–0 win against Watford.[20] Almost 12 months later he scored one of the contenders for goal of the season against Watford away to secure a 0–1 win.[21]
On 19 May 2025, Blackburn announced it had triggered a one-year extension to the player's contract.[22] Hedges made 22 appearances during the 2025–26 season, primarily operating as a left wing-back, scoring once and providing two assists. On 1 January 2026, he suffered a fractured fibula in a 2–0 defeat to Wrexham.[23][24]
Manager Valérien Ismaël later confirmed that Hedges would undergo surgery and was expected to be sidelined for a minimum of eight weeks, with the full extent of the injury only to be determined following the operation, with the worst-case scenario being that Hedges would miss the remainder of the season.[25][26] On 6 February, following the conclusion of the transfer window, the club released its matchday squad list for the remainder of the season, with Hedges omitted, confirming that he would not feature again during the campaign.[27][28]
International career
Prior to joining Swansea City, Hedges scored twice and claimed an assist as captain of the Welsh Schools Under-18s team in a 4–1 win over England.[2] Hedges has represented Wales at under-19 and under-21 level.[29]
He made his debut for the senior side on 14 November 2017 as a substitute during a 1–1 draw with Panama.[30]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 1 January 2026
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Flint Town United | 2012–13 | Cymru Alliance | 24 | 2 | — | — | — | 24 | 2 | |||
| Swansea City | 2013–14[31] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014–15[32] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16[33] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2016–17[34] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Leyton Orient (loan) | 2014–15[32] | League One | 17 | 2 | — | — | — | 17 | 2 | |||
| Stevenage (loan) | 2015–16[33] | League Two | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||
| Yeovil Town (loan) | 2016–17[34] | League Two | 21 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3[a] | 0 | 28 | 5 |
| Barnsley | 2016–17[34] | Championship | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | 8 | 0 | |||
| 2017–18[35] | Championship | 23 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | 26 | 3 | ||
| 2018–19[36] | League One | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[a] | 1 | 25 | 1 | |
| Total | 52 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 59 | 4 | ||
| Aberdeen | 2019–20[37] | Scottish Premiership | 22 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6[b] | 0 | 32 | 4 |
| 2020–21[38] | Scottish Premiership | 28 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3[b] | 4 | 32 | 9 | |
| 2021–22[39] | Scottish Premiership | 16 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4[c] | 2 | 22 | 5 | |
| Total | 66 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 13 | 6 | 86 | 18 | ||
| Blackburn Rovers | 2021–22[40] | Championship | 11 | 0 | — | — | — | 11 | 0 | |||
| 2022–23[41] | Championship | 43 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 48 | 4 | ||
| 2023–24[42] | Championship | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 18 | 2 | ||
| 2024–25[43] | Championship | 42 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 44 | 1 | ||
| 2025–26[44] | Championship | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 22 | 1 | ||
| Total | 135 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 143 | 8 | |||
| Career total | 321 | 29 | 12 | 2 | 12 | 1 | 18 | 7 | 363 | 39 | ||
- Appearances in EFL Trophy
- Appearances in the UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in the UEFA Europa Conference League
International
- As of match played 20 March 2019
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wales | 2017 | 1 | 0 |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 3 | 0 | |
Honours
Club
Barnsley
- EFL League One runner-up: 2018–19[45]
