 After his last game for Liverpool's academy, Highdale was told he would be moving as a full-time professional to Melwood, the club's main training facility in April 2008.The next day he was a passenger in a car crash in Liverpool which resulted in the death of two of his friends, and left him with critical injuries which included a bleed on his brain, three of the four main ligaments in his right knee being snapped, a broken neck and ankle and resulted in the removal of a kidney and being in a coma for five days.After intensive rehabilitation over the next two years, supported by Liverpool, he went on a youth loan to Oldham Athletic before
a further loan period with Welsh Premier League club Newtown at the beginning of 2011.