diff --git a/kroxylicious-runtime/src/main/java/io/kroxylicious/proxy/internal/FilterHandler.java b/kroxylicious-runtime/src/main/java/io/kroxylicious/proxy/internal/FilterHandler.java
index e33a727af..aaf0595d9 100644
--- a/kroxylicious-runtime/src/main/java/io/kroxylicious/proxy/internal/FilterHandler.java
+++ b/kroxylicious-runtime/src/main/java/io/kroxylicious/proxy/internal/FilterHandler.java
@@ -301,11 +301,9 @@ private <F extends FilterResult> CompletableFuture<F> handleDeferredStage(Decode
             }
             future.completeExceptionally(new TimeoutException("Filter %s was timed-out.".formatted(filterDescriptor())));
         }, timeoutMs, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS);
-        return future.thenApplyAsync(filterResult -> {
+        return future.whenComplete((f, throwable) -> {
             timeoutFuture.cancel(false);
-
-            return filterResult;
-        }, ctx.executor());
+        }).thenApplyAsync(filterResult -> filterResult, ctx.executor());
     }
 
     private void deferredResponseCompleted(ResponseFilterResult ignored, Throwable throwable) {