Graduate student Omar Ramadan rejoins teammates on the pitch after a 10-month injury forced him to take to the sidelines.

“One second you’re just enjoying, you’re laughing with your teammates playing and the next second, your season’s done. It happened so quick.” 

Unsure of exactly what had happened but knowing it was serious, he faced a question that would define his journey over the next 10 months: could he fight his way back? 

The resolve with which graduate men’s soccer midfielder Omar Ramadan answered that question would define everything that came next and be influenced by everything that came before. But prior to the season-ending Achilles injury that forced his role on the team to change — and his perspective with it— Ramadan had one goal: become a professional soccer player. It wasn’t hard to see where that dream was born. 

“My parents [Ahmed Gad and Tagrid El Shalakany] were both born in Egypt and …  [in] Egypt, the primary sport is soccer. If you think of Brazil, [or] you think of those countries where the players grow up just playing soccer, Egypt is the same way,” he said. 

While Ramadan’s mother didn’t play soccer, his father, Ahmed Gad, embraced the inseparable connection between the sport and life in Egypt. This fierce love of soccer would follow Gad 6,500 miles to Algonquin, Illinois, where Ramadan and his three siblings grew up. 

“My dad grew up playing on the street just for fun, and he ended up playing professionally and on the national team [in Egypt], so when he came to the U.S. with my mom, he just began coaching … The family was all soccer,” Ramadan said. 

At the Ramadan family home in Algonquin, the spirit of soccer blossomed in Ramadan and his siblings, Youssef, Nadia and Ali, who could be found playing soccer in the grass, challenging each other in fierce two-versus-two, one-versus-one or — on occasion — one-versus-three matchups.

By the time he turned 18, Ramadan’s mind hadn’t strayed from visions of taking his soccer career to the next level. Ahead of the 2020 soccer season, the Illinois native committed to DePaul University, a short 40-minute train ride from home.  

Committing to play for the Blue Demons also meant Ramadan had the chance to be teammates with his older brother Youssef, who had just finished a year at St. Louis. The two joined the DePaul soccer program together, bringing the yard competitions of their childhood to the Division I national stage. 

“I had [the chance to play] with my older brother for two seasons and now obviously with Ali for two or three seasons, so I’m really lucky. I don’t think a lot of people are able to say that they could do that. So I definitely tried not to take it for granted,” Ramadan said with a smile. 

But just as his collegiate career was beginning in 2020, an unexpected challenge emerged. Ramadan was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, a reality that would test not only his body, but his mindset. 

True to the positivity that would guide him through hardships to come, however, Ramadan — with reassurance from his doctors that the active lifestyle that came with being a Division I athlete was the best thing for diabetes — adopted a positive mindset for the situation. 

Ramadan said that, thinking about the Tour de France biking race and how the Union Cycliste Internationale recently banned Dexcom glucose monitors because they allowed racers too much control over their body, having Type 1 Diabetes almost gives him a competitive edge too. 

“I almost have an unfair advantage [and] I’m definitely grateful for it … Yeah, it’s a little bit of a superpower,” he said. 

The diabetes diagnosis didn’t stop Ramadan from making an impact on the Blue Demon program. In his three-year tenure at DePaul, Ramadan saw 41 starts, culminating in eight assists, a game-winning goal his sophomore season and 3,227 minutes on the pitch. 

By 2023, though, Ramadan was ready to make a change. While his time at DePaul served him well, the Illinois native looked to elevate his game and chase his professional dream, an opportunity he found at Creighton. 

“When I got in the portal and Creighton reached out, it was a no-brainer for me because I played against Creighton multiple times being at DePaul and it was always the toughest game we’d play … It’s just a school that breeds professionals,” Ramadan said. 

Not only that, but after playing alongside his older brother Youssef, Ramadan reunited on the field with another sibling — this time, his younger brother Ali. 

The 2023 soccer season paid dividends for Ramadan’s decision to depart from DePaul, as he started in 16 contests and logged more than 1,292 minutes on the pitch. Fittingly, Ramadan also put on a clinic against his old team, recording a goal and an assist in the 2-1 Bluejay road victory.  

A year later, coming off a standout debut season with the Bluejays that set high expectations for 2024, the course of the next 10 months of Ramadan’s life changed in an instant. 

On just his second day of practice in 2024, during a routine possession drill, Ramadan’s Achilles abruptly gave out. Though he didn’t yet know all the signs of an Achilles injury, he immediately understood the severity of the moment. 

 “It was very painful at first, but I think it was more [painful] mentally, like when it happens you know this is probably serious. So, I think that’s what hurts the most,” Ramadan said. 

His season ended almost as soon as it began, leaving the Illinois native to face a grueling 10-month road of mental and physical recovery. The injury also gave him the chance to address a long-standing hip issue that required reconstruction surgery. 

The hip procedure required months to heal, and while it promised long-term relief, it only added to the frustration and challenges of Ramadan’s recovery in the short term. 

“[I spent] a lot of time on crutches … Once I had finished a good three months with my Achilles and could start walking on my left, that’s when I had to go do my right [hip]. So that was mentally challenging as well, and emotionally challenging too …  [It was like] starting … the process from scratch again,” Ramadan recalled. 

Through the ups and downs, the days when doubt and frustration crept in, his family, Ramadan said, was his first source of motivation, even from afar, as his parents had moved back to Egypt by that time. 

“They’re the ones who are with me through every little thing, good or bad, [and] they’re the ones who’ve always been there and will continue to be with me,” he said.  

Beyond family, Ramadan’s dream of playing professionally drove him forward, reminding him why he endured the pain and discipline of daily rehab and pushing him to work harder and remain mentally sharp throughout the recovery process. 

Ramadan’s injury challenged not only his body, but also his sense of purpose and position on the team. Once a leader through his playmaking and presence on the field, the Illinois native now had to find ways to support his teammates from the sidelines. 

“I’m extremely proud of him … He’s a great leader … [and] I think he not only leads with his mouth, but he leads by example too. It’s important for us to have him on the field,” Creighton Head Coach Johnny Torres said. 

That belief fueled Ramadan, reinforcing the ways he could contribute and lead off the pitch. 

“My teammates [and] my coaches have helped me a ton with that, just telling me that they trust me, they respect my voice and in my leadership and they need me to communicate with them. Their trust and their respect is crucial for me to be able to give that,” he said. 

At long last, after 10 months of recovery, Ramadan returned to the pitch for the 2025 season, ready to embrace a new chapter. Though the fear of reinjury lingered, the Bluejay midfielder’s dominant emotions were gratitude and joy when he returned to the pitch.  

“As soon as I came back from [my] injury and I was on the field, I just had to remind myself, ‘you’re lucky to be here.’ Just be grateful, enjoy every process, enjoy every moment of the process. Everything good and bad, you have to experience it,” Ramadan reflected. 

That lesson in gratitude now guides him both on and off the field. Ramadan is pursuing an MBA in Business Intelligence Analytics while continuing to play for Creighton, but his dream of playing professionally is still at the forefront. Whether in the MLS or representing Egypt, his soccer ambitions have never wavered, even when life threw obstacles his way.  

For Ramadan, returning to the pitch after 10 months wasn’t just about getting back into the game — it was about appreciating it in a way he never had before and proving to himself that he could overcome the challenges, endure the setbacks and come back stronger than ever. 

“You don’t realize how much fun you’re having, you don’t realize how lucky you are to be playing until you have an injury like that and you’re on the sidelines for 10 months,” the graduate said, his reiteration of gratitude underscoring a mindset shaped by patience and appreciation. “I learned that the hard things make you appreciate all the good things you have more. If you don’t go through those hard struggles, if you don’t have hard times, it’s more difficult to appreciate what you do have now.”