diff --git a/io_uring/net.c b/io_uring/net.c
index 6d71748e2c5af..2129562bfd9f3 100644
--- a/io_uring/net.c
+++ b/io_uring/net.c
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ static void io_netmsg_recycle(struct io_kiocb *req, unsigned int issue_flags)
 {
 	struct io_async_msghdr *hdr = req->async_data;
 
-	if (!hdr || issue_flags & IO_URING_F_UNLOCKED)
+	if (!req_has_async_data(req) || issue_flags & IO_URING_F_UNLOCKED)
 		return;
 
 	/* Let normal cleanup path reap it if we fail adding to the cache */