diff --git a/src/pfr/pfrgload.c b/src/pfr/pfrgload.c
index 87ba6846e..f9615824c 100644
--- a/src/pfr/pfrgload.c
+++ b/src/pfr/pfrgload.c
@@ -793,6 +793,8 @@
     /* initialize glyph loader */
     FT_GlyphLoader_Rewind( glyph->loader );
 
+    glyph->num_subs = 0;
+
     /* load the glyph, recursively when needed */
     return pfr_glyph_load_rec( glyph, stream, gps_offset, offset, size );
   }