diff --git a/eth/downloader/fetchers.go b/eth/downloader/fetchers.go
index 4ebb9bbc98..6e5c65eb20 100644
--- a/eth/downloader/fetchers.go
+++ b/eth/downloader/fetchers.go
@@ -45,9 +45,6 @@ func (d *Downloader) fetchHeadersByHash(p *peerConnection, hash common.Hash, amo
 	defer timeoutTimer.Stop()
 
 	select {
-	case <-d.cancelCh:
-		return nil, nil, errCanceled
-
 	case <-timeoutTimer.C:
 		// Header retrieval timed out, update the metrics
 		p.log.Debug("Header request timed out", "elapsed", ttl)