diff --git a/common/src/main/java/io/netty/util/Recycler.java b/common/src/main/java/io/netty/util/Recycler.java
index 64983570ee..8b646698e3 100644
--- a/common/src/main/java/io/netty/util/Recycler.java
+++ b/common/src/main/java/io/netty/util/Recycler.java
@@ -340,6 +340,7 @@ public abstract class Recycler<T> {
             }
             size --;
             DefaultHandle ret = elements[size];
+            elements[size] = null;
             if (ret.lastRecycledId != ret.recycleId) {
                 throw new IllegalStateException("recycled multiple times");
             }