diff --git a/drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx4/en_netdev.c b/drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx4/en_netdev.c
index 2a210c4efb89..ebce5bb24df9 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx4/en_netdev.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx4/en_netdev.c
@@ -1698,8 +1698,6 @@ int mlx4_en_start_port(struct net_device *dev)
 	/* Schedule multicast task to populate multicast list */
 	queue_work(mdev->workqueue, &priv->rx_mode_task);
 
-	mlx4_set_stats_bitmap(mdev->dev, &priv->stats_bitmap);
-
 #ifdef CONFIG_MLX4_EN_VXLAN
 	if (priv->mdev->dev->caps.tunnel_offload_mode == MLX4_TUNNEL_OFFLOAD_MODE_VXLAN)
 		vxlan_get_rx_port(dev);
@@ -2853,6 +2851,8 @@ int mlx4_en_init_netdev(struct mlx4_en_dev *mdev, int port,
 		queue_delayed_work(mdev->workqueue, &priv->service_task,
 				   SERVICE_TASK_DELAY);
 
+	mlx4_set_stats_bitmap(mdev->dev, &priv->stats_bitmap);
+
 	return 0;
 
 out: