diff --git a/src/libsystemd/sd-journal/journal-file.c b/src/libsystemd/sd-journal/journal-file.c
index e96e4b6b9b..6f29b47ff2 100644
--- a/src/libsystemd/sd-journal/journal-file.c
+++ b/src/libsystemd/sd-journal/journal-file.c
@@ -734,8 +734,9 @@ int journal_file_fstat(JournalFile *f) {
                 return r;
 
         /* Refuse appending to files that are already deleted */
-        if (f->last_stat.st_nlink <= 0)
-                return -EIDRM;
+        r = stat_verify_linked(&f->last_stat);
+        if (r < 0)
+                return r;
 
         return 0;
 }