Ryan Stuart Clayton Inniss (born 5 June 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre back for club Forest Green Rovers.
An England under-16 and under-17 international, he turned professional at Crystal Palace in 2011. He had a number of loan spells at Cheltenham Town, Luton Town, Gillingham, Yeovil Town, Port Vale, Southend United, Colchester United, Dundee and Newport County. He joined Charlton Athletic on a free transfer in October 2020, where he would make 72 appearances in close to three seasons. He signed with Forest Green Rovers in June 2023.
Club career
Crystal Palace
Inniss joined the Crystal Palace youth academy at the age of 14 and signed his first professional contract two years later. He captained the club's youth team during the 2012–13 season.
Cheltenham Town loan
Inniss joined League Two side Cheltenham Town on 1 August 2013 on a month-long loan; this was later extended for a further month. "Robins" manager Mark Yates said that Inniss had "been on our radar for six months now". Standing in for the injured Troy Brown, Inniss made his professional debut on 27 August 2013 in Cheltenham's 2–1 League Cup defeat against West Ham United. He impressed, despite suffering a facial injury. He made his first appearance in the English Football League four days later against Bury. On 13 September 2013, Inniss had his loan spell at Cheltenham terminated due to injury. After recovering, he was an unused substitute for Crystal Palace in a 3–1 loss to Liverpool in the Premier League on 5 October 2013.
Luton Town loan
On 10 January 2014, Inniss joined Conference Premier leaders Luton Town on a one-month loan, having been a "number one target" for "Hatters" manager John Still. He scored with his first touch five minutes into his Luton debut in a 2–2 FA Trophy draw with Cambridge United. He returned to Crystal Palace after playing in three matches for the club. On 14 February 2014, he joined League One side Gillingham on a loan deal lasting until the end of the season, making his debut against Sheffield United in a 1–0 defeat. He picked up an injury in the game, which limited him to just two further appearances for the "Gills".
Yeovil Town loan
On 16 October 2014, Inniss joined Yeovil Town on a one-month loan deal, later extended until 20 December 2014. "Glovers" manager Gary Johnson had signed him on the recommendation of Tony Pulis. On 29 November, he was sent off for the first time in his career for a two-footed challenge on Kyel Reid in a 2–0 defeat by Preston North End at Huish Park. On 6 January 2015, Inniss returned to Crystal Palace after being recalled from his loan spell at Yeovil having made six appearances.
Port Vale loan
On 12 February 2015, Inniss joined Port Vale on a one-month loan deal. He made his debut two days later, helping the "Valiants" to keep their first clean sheet in three months with a 1–0 win over Walsall. He collected five yellow cards in five starts during his stay at Vale Park, helping the team to concede just two goals whilst he was on the pitch, but his loan spell was not extended as he damaged his ankle ligaments during his final appearance.
After being linked with a return to Burslem for many weeks, his arrival on loan at Port Vale for the entirety of the 2015–16 season was confirmed on 27 July. He started the 2015–16 season competing with Remie Streete and Richard Duffy for one of two available centre-back places. He was in good form at the start of the campaign, and also managed to significantly improve his disciplinary record. He dislocated his shoulder in September and returned to Selhurst Park for treatment, though his loan deal to Port Vale remained active. He returned to Vale shortly after Christmas. However he picked up a hamstring injury in a home draw with Coventry City on 7 February, and was ruled out of action for three weeks. He returned to Crystal Palace after a re-occurrence of his hamstring injury in a defeat to Barnsley on 28 March. Page described him as "the unluckiest player I think I have ever met with injuries".