Belgian-born Rocky Bushiri, born on the 30th of November, 1999, is a well-built central defender currently playing for Scottish side Hibernian. Standing 6ft 1in tall (1.87m) and at a weighty 13st 12lb (88kg), he's established a solid presence in his assigned jersey number 33. The 25-year-old also adds an international flavour to his resume by representing the DR Congo national team.
Bushiri's football journey began in July 2016 when he joined Derde Klasse side Oostende in Belgium as a trainee. Despite being a debutant in the 2017 - 2018 season, he managed to feature in two first team league appearances. A subsequent loan to Eupen in the Challenger Pro League in Belgium bore fruit as he made a significant leap to 23 first-team appearances in league matches in the 2018 - 2019 season and a single appearance in the 2020 - 2021 season.
July 2019 marked a distinct turn in Bushiri's career when he transferred from Oostende to Championship side, Norwich City, in England for an undisclosed fee. However, successive loan spells awaited him with Blackpool in League One, Sint-Truiden in Belgium's Pro League and Mechelen in the same league. These two years proved to be tough, with a combined total of 13 first-team league appearances split between three clubs.
Bushiri returned to Belgium in January 2021 for yet another loan spell, this time with his former club Eupen. Here, however, his playing time was reduced dramatically, making only one appearance in the 2020 - 2021 season.
Upon a loan shift to Scotland's Hibernian in January 2022, things started to look positive for Bushiri. His first season boasted 14 league appearances while the 2022 - 2023 season saw a slight increment to 15. He continued to show consistency by making 27 appearances in the 2023 - 2024 season. The current season (2024 - 2025) has been particularly notable with Bushiri notching up 26 first team appearances and adding goal-scoring to his skill set with three league goals.
In July 2022, the defender solidified his place at Hibernian by transferring permanently from Norwich, for an undisclosed fee. His growing prominence is evident in his participation in the League Cup 2024 - 2025 for Hibernian with 4 appearances, scoring once in the Scottish Cup 2024 - 2025, and representing DR Congo in the World Cup Qualifiers Africa 2024 - 2026.
