diff --git a/drivers/net/phy/smsc.c b/drivers/net/phy/smsc.c
index c88edb19d2e7..1c7306a1af13 100644
--- a/drivers/net/phy/smsc.c
+++ b/drivers/net/phy/smsc.c
@@ -507,10 +507,8 @@ static void smsc_get_strings(struct phy_device *phydev, u8 *data)
 {
 	int i;
 
-	for (i = 0; i < ARRAY_SIZE(smsc_hw_stats); i++) {
-		strncpy(data + i * ETH_GSTRING_LEN,
-		       smsc_hw_stats[i].string, ETH_GSTRING_LEN);
-	}
+	for (i = 0; i < ARRAY_SIZE(smsc_hw_stats); i++)
+		ethtool_sprintf(&data, "%s", smsc_hw_stats[i].string);
 }
 
 static u64 smsc_get_stat(struct phy_device *phydev, int i)