Birthplace: Belfast

Honours: Northern Ireland international

Unfortunately only a few months into the 2007/08 season, Michael suffered multiple ligaments and hamstring damage and underwent surgery that ruled him out for most of the season.

After playing several games in the reserves, Duff edged his way back to full fitness and to the first team, making his comeback in the final game of the season ironically against Crystal Palace the team that he sustained his injury against in September.

The Northen Ireland star will be hoping to put the terrible injury behind him and perform to his high abilty in throughout the 2008/09 campaign.

In the 2006/07 season Michael was a virtual ever-present, missing only three games all season.

With another solid season under his belt, and having scored his first league goal for the club against Hull City in October, Michael was rightly a close contender for player of the season, narrowly missing out to Wade Elloitt.

Michael joined the Clarets as Steve Cotterill's second signing in July 2004, when he arrived from his first and only previous club Cheltenham Town.

Burnley paid a fee of £30,000 for the versatile defender, who became Cheltenham's first ever international player when he represented Ireland in 1999.

Duff quickly adapted to life in the Championship, despite having only played one season.

Duff initially came through the ranks at Whaddon Road as a teenager and with Cotterill at the helm, became a first team regular as the Robins won promotion from the Doctor Martens League into the Conference and then into the Football League - with Duff scoring the goal that secured their promotion to the professional game.

As Cheltenham established themselves in the League, Duff became one of the team's key players and a highly rated young star.

That was accentuated when Cotterill took the club to the next stage by winning promotion to the Second Division, with Duff again playing a key role in the team.

Duff was also part of the Cheltenham team that knocked Burnley out of the FA Cup in 2002, but after more than 200 League games for the Robins and in the last year of his contract he felt it was a good time to move on and try his luck at a higher level.

A tall and strong player, Duff can play in a variety of roles in the team, whether this is in the centre of defence or on the right side of defence or midfield.