diff --git a/drivers/net/ethernet/stmicro/stmmac/stmmac_main.c b/drivers/net/ethernet/stmicro/stmmac/stmmac_main.c
index 864b476f7fd5..925f2f8659b8 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ethernet/stmicro/stmmac/stmmac_main.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ethernet/stmicro/stmmac/stmmac_main.c
@@ -837,8 +837,11 @@ static int stmmac_init_phy(struct net_device *dev)
 				     interface);
 	}
 
-	if (IS_ERR(phydev)) {
+	if (IS_ERR_OR_NULL(phydev)) {
 		pr_err("%s: Could not attach to PHY\n", dev->name);
+		if (!phydev)
+			return -ENODEV;
+
 		return PTR_ERR(phydev);
 	}