diff --git a/src/wp-includes/class-wp-rewrite.php b/src/wp-includes/class-wp-rewrite.php
index 6efa5833a2..17c58b90a8 100644
--- a/src/wp-includes/class-wp-rewrite.php
+++ b/src/wp-includes/class-wp-rewrite.php
@@ -1475,6 +1475,10 @@ class WP_Rewrite {
 		if ( empty($this->rules) ) {
 			$this->matches = 'matches';
 			$this->rewrite_rules();
+			if ( ! did_action( 'wp_loaded' ) ) {
+				add_action( 'wp_loaded', array( $this, 'flush_rules' ) );
+				return $this->rules;
+			}
 			update_option('rewrite_rules', $this->rules);
 		}