diff --git a/lib/nvme/nvme_tcp.c b/lib/nvme/nvme_tcp.c
index 9c1795eca..ce5cd87c0 100644
--- a/lib/nvme/nvme_tcp.c
+++ b/lib/nvme/nvme_tcp.c
@@ -1752,7 +1752,7 @@ nvme_tcp_qpair_process_completions(struct spdk_nvme_qpair *qpair, uint32_t max_c
 			if (spdk_unlikely(tqpair->qpair.ctrlr->timeout_enabled)) {
 				nvme_tcp_qpair_check_timeout(qpair);
 			}
-			return rc;
+			goto fail;
 		}
 	}