Michael's wife Kate recalls watching the exact moment that injury occurred. After frantically searching among the standing players for his shirt number, her heart sank when she realised it was her man that was down.
 
"It was so tough", Kate explains. "I immediately burst into tears and worried for him - I could tell the injury wasn't good. And I wondered - how in the world was I going to pick him up from this?
 
"But before I went to see him after the game, I composed myself, put a brave face on, and told him what he needed to hear.
 
"That he has been told his career was over before, and it wasn't. That yes, it was horrendous but let's deal with it and get through it."  
 
It's clear that Kate has always been a positive influence on Michael's life, so much so that he credits her support as a large part of getting through the darkest days of his career.
 
"Kate would always take the piss out of me and bring me down to earth when I needed it," he says. "And she never showed when she was hurting - even though I think she was - she always stayed strong for me."
 
Kate interrupts Michael in a charming, sarcastic Northern English tone and says, "Yes, when he is injured and miserable, I am the dream wife.
 
"You want a cup of tea? Of course I'll make it for you! But when he's fit and healthy? Make it yourself!" Kate teases.
 
It's clear this twosome have a beautiful rapport with one another with playful jokes - at each other's expense - being thrown back and forth for the entire duration of our chat. 
 
Michael recalls how he and Kate met at a time when a serious relationship was the last thing on his mind.
 
"I remember early into my recovery with my ankle injury, my mate rang and told me he has found the woman for me," he said.
 
"She was a professional Irish Dancer and she was on dance break in the UK from Vegas where she starred in Lord of the Dance.
 
"I was only 21 and I laughed it off and told him he was ridiculous. But he insisted I meet her because she had the same sick and twisted sense of humour as I do.
 
"And the rest is history."
 
Looking at Kate, she has Irish Dancer written all over her. She jokes she was partly selected to star in the show because she was the only one that didn't need a wild, curly wig.
 
"I fell into Irish dancing, really", Kate says. "My Mum had practised it, and after some Irish Dancers came to a friends party when I was younger, I really enjoyed it.
 
"But it wasn't a career aspiration of mine - it was a case of right place at the right time and before you know it, I auditioned and found myself on the way to Vegas at 17 years old."
 
Moving away from home for any 17 year old would seem like a daunting prospect, but living in Las Vegas was an opportunity the girl from Northern England couldn't pass up.
 
"I grew up a lot in Vegas - I was there nearly three years," she says. "And looking back, I probably didn't make as much out of it as I could of, but I was young and home sick for a lot of the time.
 
"Of course there were some amazing elements of living that lifestyle. After Vegas, we toured Europe with our show and the experience was priceless.
 
"But I fell out of love with dancing - even though it was a fantastic part of my life."
 
It was not long after she gave up dancing that she embarked on a new, completely foreign role altogether, that of a WAG.
 
We Football WAGS in Australia, well, we are just that - Wives and Girlfriends. In my experience anyway, it's not a competition amongst the girls for most coveted handbag or most spectacular house. We are just normal chicks that happen to be partnered up with guys that ply their trade in sport. 
 
But being a WAG in England is a different story.
 
"What you see on Footballers Wives - the TV Show - is pretty much the lifestyle, without the incest." Michael says. "If you don't have a Range Rover Sport, you haven't made it.
 
"The cars, the houses, the lifestyle - it's very glitzy.
 
"But at Leeds, we had a great group of guys - and girls - and so while we enjoyed a great night out and cash was splashed around, we stayed pretty down to earth amongst it all."
 
And while for the most part being part of such a lifestyle was fun and exciting, the first thing Kate noticed when she came to Australia was how relaxed people in football were in comparison.
 
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