diff --git a/plugins/lua/lua.c b/plugins/lua/lua.c
index 6f3fc27f..06e0f6eb 100644
--- a/plugins/lua/lua.c
+++ b/plugins/lua/lua.c
@@ -1482,17 +1482,22 @@ static void inject_string(script_info *info, char const *line)
 	lua_State *L = info->state;
 	int base, top;
 	char *ret_line;
+	gboolean force_ret = FALSE;
 
 	if(line[0] == '=')
+	{
 		line++;
+		force_ret = TRUE;
+	}
 	ret_line = g_strconcat("return ", line, NULL);
 
 	lua_rawgeti(L, LUA_REGISTRYINDEX, info->traceback);
 	base = lua_gettop(L);
 	if(luaL_loadbuffer(L, ret_line, strlen(ret_line), "@interpreter"))
 	{
-		lua_pop(L, 1);
-		if(luaL_loadbuffer(L, line, strlen(line), "@interpreter"))
+		if(!force_ret)
+			lua_pop(L, 1);
+		if(force_ret || luaL_loadbuffer(L, line, strlen(line), "@interpreter"))
 		{
 			hexchat_printf(ph, "Lua syntax error: %s", luaL_optstring(L, -1, ""));
 			lua_pop(L, 2);