On July 23, 1993, Lemieux underwent his second back surgery to repair a herniated muscle. He missed the first ten games of the season to recover from surgery, and missed 48 more games from back problems. After the season, he announced that he would take a leave of absence because of fatigue brought on by his radiation treatment.[24] Lemieux returned for the 1995–96 season, and on October 26, 1995, he scored his 500th career goal in his 605th game, played against the New York Islanders.