diff --git a/lib/blocklib.php b/lib/blocklib.php
index a9e00eaa8c5..133fca67129 100644
--- a/lib/blocklib.php
+++ b/lib/blocklib.php
@@ -193,7 +193,7 @@ function blocks_have_content(&$pageblocks, $position) {
 function blocks_print_group(&$page, &$pageblocks, $position) {
 
     if(empty($pageblocks[$position])) {
-        return;
+        $pageblocks[$position] = array();
     }
 
     $isediting = $page->user_is_editing();