The son of the former Manchester United defender Steve Bruce, he played as a defender or defensive midfielder for Oldham Athletic, Sheffield Wednesday, Tranmere Rovers, Ipswich Town, Leicester City, Leeds United, Huddersfield Town, Hull City, Wigan Athletic, Bury, Kilmarnock and Macclesfield.

[22] On 1 February 2010, Bruce joined Leicester City on loan for the rest of the season;[23] he jumped at the opportunity "for a change and a new challenge.

He recovered in time to play in the last three matches of the season, partnering Jack Hobbs in central defence as Leicester lost the Championship play-off semi-final to Cardiff City on penalties.

[27][28] In July 2010, a transfer to Sheffield United was discussed but not completed; press speculation suggested the clubs had failed to agree on how the £200,000 fee should be paid.

[31][32] In his first League appearance, again replacing the rested Naylor, this time against Doncaster Rovers on 17 September, Bruce helped Leeds keep a clean sheet.

[33] He kept his place for the next game, against Sheffield United,[32] and scored his first Leeds goal in the next, a 6–4 home defeat against Preston North End.

After cementing his place in the side in partnership with Andy O'Brien, Bruce picked up an injury against Queens Park Rangers and had to be substituted early in the first half.

[41] Bruce scored in a pre-season victory against Motherwell,[42] and played in a reserve-team friendly against non-league club Farsley Celtic,[42] but missed the first few months of the season through injury, including damage to an ankle.

[44] He made his debut in Town's 1–0 home defeat to AFC Bournemouth on 10 December, and played twice more before Leeds invoked a 24-hour recall clause after an injury to Tom Lees.

[48] No move took place, and Bruce made seven more appearances before being released by manager Neil Warnock when his contract expired at the end of the season.

[50] He played 32 games and became an integral part of the team that earned promotion to the Premier League as Championship runners-up during the 2012–13 season.

[53] On 20 October 2015 he scored his first goal for Hull City with a 36th-minute header, after coming on for the injured Curtis Davies in the 18th minute of a 3–0 win against his former club, Ipswich Town.

[59] Bruce went on to make ten appearances for Wigan in all competitions, scoring his seventh career goal in a 3–1 victory against Rotherham United.

[70] On 23 May 2007 he made his full international debut in a friendly match for the Republic of Ireland against Ecuador played at Giants Stadium, New Jersey.

When his father was appointed manager of EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion in February 2022, Bruce came in as a member of his coaching staff.