Josh Ruffels
English association football player

Josh Ruffels
Ruffels in 2025.
Personal information
Full name Joshua Andrew Bernard Ruffels[1]
Date of birth (1993-10-23) 23 October 1993 (age 32)[2]
Place of birth Oxford, England
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[3]
Position Left-back[4]
Team information
Current team
 Shrewsbury Town
Number 25
Youth career
–2011 Coventry City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2013 Coventry City 1 (0)
2013–2021 Oxford United 257 (21)
2021–2025 Huddersfield Town 74 (3)
2025– Shrewsbury Town 6 (1)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:33, 2 December 2025 (UTC)

Joshua Andrew Bernard Ruffels (born 23 October 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a left-back for EFL League Two club Shrewsbury Town.

Early life

Ruffels was born in Oxford, Oxfordshire.[5]

Career

Coventry City

Ruffels made his first-team debut for Coventry City as a substitute on 16 August 2011 in a 2–1 defeat to Crystal Palace in the Championship, coming on to replace injured Gary McSheffrey after 18 minutes.[6][7] He was released by Coventry at the end of the 2012–13 season.[8]

Oxford United

Ruffels playing for Oxford United in 2013.

Oxford United signed Ruffels on a free transfer on 30 July 2013.[9] He made his debut as a substitute in a 3–1 league win over Torquay United on 17 August 2013[10] and his first starting appearance in a 2–1 home defeat to Portsmouth in the Football League Trophy on 8 October 2013.[11] He scored his first senior goal in a 1–1 League Two draw versus Bury on 4 February 2014.[12] On 17 April 2014, Ruffels signed a new contract keeping him at the club for a further two years.[13] Nine days later, he was voted 'Young Player of the Year' after he established himself in the first team in his first full season for the club.[14] On 20 October 2017, Ruffles agreed a new contract keeping him at Oxford until the end of the 2019–20 season, with an additional one-year option available.[15] Ruffels won the Supporters' Player of the Year Award for the 2018–19 season.[16] Signed as a midfielder, he now plays at left back.[17]

Huddersfield Town

Ruffels agreed to join EFL Championship club Huddersfield Town on 1 July 2021.[18] After contracting COVID-19 just as the season was about to commence in August 2021, Ruffels had to miss a lot of the early part of the season, but he finally made his Terriers debut as a substitute in their 3–2 win over Blackburn Rovers on 28 September 2021, where he also became the 1,000th player to play for Huddersfield Town.[19]

He scored his first goals for Huddersfield when he scored twice in a 2–1 win at Queens Park Rangers on 8 November 2022.[20]

He was released by the club at the end of the 2024–25 season.[21]

Shrewsbury Town

Following his release from Huddersfield, Ruffles joined League Two side Shrewsbury Town in October 2025,[22] reuniting with manager Michael Appleton, after their spell together at Oxford United. He made his debut for the club on 18 October 2025, in a 1–0 win against Crawley Town.[23] He scored his first goal for the club on 8 November 2025, in a 3–1 defeat to Crewe Alexandra.[24]

Career statistics

As of match played 20 December 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Coventry City 2010–11[25] Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
2011–12[26] Championship 1 0 1 0 0 0 — 2 0
2012–13[27] League One 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Oxford United 2013–14[28] League Two 29 1 5 0 0 0 1[a] 0 35 1
2014–15[29] League Two 33 0 1 0 2 0 1[a] 0 37 0
2015–16[30] League Two 16 0 1 0 2 0 3[a] 0 22 0
2016–17[31] League One 20 2 3 1 1 0 6[b] 0 30 3
2017–18[32] League One 38 5 1 0 1 0 5[b] 0 45 5
2018–19[33] League One 44 4 3 0 2 0 3[b] 0 52 4
2019–20[34] League One 35 3 4 0 4 0 5[c] 0 48 3
2020–21[35] League One 42 6 1 1 1 0 4[d] 0 48 7
Total 257 21 19 2 13 0 28 0 317 23
Huddersfield Town 2021–22[36] Championship 8 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 11 0
2022–23[37] Championship 33 3 0 0 0 0 — 33 3
2023–24[38] Championship 11 0 0 0 0 0 — 11 0
2024–25[39] League One 22 0 0 0 1 1 2[b] 0 25 1
Total 74 3 3 0 1 1 2 0 80 4
Shrewsbury Town 2025–26[40] League Two 8 1 2 0 0 0 1[b] 0 11 1
Career total 340 25 25 2 14 1 31 0 410 28
  1. ^ a b c Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
  2. ^ a b c d e Appearances in EFL Trophy
  3. ^ Two appearances in EFL Trophy, three appearances in League One play-offs
  4. ^ Two appearances in EFL Trophy, two appearances in League One play-offs

Honours

Oxford United

References

  1. ^ "Club list of registered players: As at 18th May 2019: Oxford United" (PDF). English Football League. p. 59. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  2. ^ "Joshua Ruffels: Overview". ESPN. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  3. ^ "Josh Ruffels". Huddersfield Town A.F.C. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  4. ^ Roberts, James (29 November 2019). "Josh Ruffels proud of Oxford United appearance landmark". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  5. ^ "Josh Ruffels". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  6. ^ "Crystal Palace 2–1 Coventry City". Coventry City F.C. 16 August 2011. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  7. ^ "Crystal Palace 2–1 Coventry". BBC Sport. 16 August 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  8. ^ "Sky Blues release four players". Coventry City F.C. 15 May 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  9. ^ "Oxford United sign Coventry City youngster Josh Ruffels". BBC Sport. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  10. ^ "Torquay 1–3 Oxford Utd". BBC Sport. 17 August 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  11. ^ Williams, Chris (8 October 2013). "United 1 Portsmouth 2". Oxford United F.C. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  12. ^ "Bury 1–1 Oxford United". BBC Sport. 4 February 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  13. ^ "Josh Ruffels signs new deal". BBC Sport. 17 April 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  14. ^ "Ryan Clarke, Oxford United, Player of the Year". Oxford United F.C. 26 April 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  15. ^ "Ruffels Signs New Deal". Oxford United F.C. 20 October 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
  16. ^ "Josh Ruffels Wins Supporters Player of the Year". Oxford United F.C. 27 April 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  17. ^ Pritchard, David (7 April 2020). "Josh Ruffels: My Oxford United career is down to one phone call". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  18. ^ "SIGNING: JOSH RUFFELS AGREES TO JOIN TOWN!". Huddersfield Town A.F.C. 10 June 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  19. ^ "REPORT: TOWN 3-2 BLACKBURN ROVERS". Huddersfield Town A.F.C. 28 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  20. ^ "QPR 1-2 Huddersfield". BBC. 8 November 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  21. ^ "2024/25 RETAINED LIST CONFIRMED". www.htafc.com. 5 May 2025. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  22. ^ "Josh Ruffels: Shrewsbury Town sign ex-Oxford United and Huddersfield Town full-back on free transfer". BBC Sport. 17 October 2025. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
  23. ^ "Shrewsbury Town 1–0 Crawley Town". BBC Sport. 18 October 2025. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
  24. ^ "Crewe Alexandra 3–1 Shrewsbury Town". BBC Sport. 8 November 2025. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
  25. ^ "Games played by Josh Ruffels in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  26. ^ "Games played by Josh Ruffels in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  27. ^ "Games played by Josh Ruffels in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  28. ^ "Games played by Josh Ruffels in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  29. ^ "Games played by Josh Ruffels in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  30. ^ "Games played by Josh Ruffels in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  31. ^ "Games played by Josh Ruffels in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  32. ^ "Games played by Josh Ruffels in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  33. ^ "Games played by Josh Ruffels in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  34. ^ "Games played by Josh Ruffels in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  35. ^ "Games played by Josh Ruffels in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  36. ^ "Games played by Josh Ruffels in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  37. ^ "Games played by Josh Ruffels in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  38. ^ "Games played by Josh Ruffels in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  39. ^ "Games played by Josh Ruffels in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
  40. ^ "Games played by Josh Ruffels in 2025/2026". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
  41. ^ Cartwright, Phil (3 April 2016). "Barnsley 3–2 Oxford United". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  42. ^ Scott, Ged (2 April 2017). "Coventry City 2–1 Oxford United". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Josh Ruffels.
  • Profile Archived 16 July 2019 at the Wayback Machine at the Oxford United F.C. website
  • Josh Ruffels at Soccerbase
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