diff --git a/includes/Linker.php b/includes/Linker.php
index 0ecd744c9ed..7eda21bce16 100644
--- a/includes/Linker.php
+++ b/includes/Linker.php
@@ -1168,7 +1168,10 @@ class Linker {
 								$title->getDBkey(), $section );
 						}
 						if ( $sectionTitle ) {
-							$link = Linker::makeCommentLink( $sectionTitle, $wgLang->getArrow(), $wikiId, 'noclasses' );
+							$link = Linker::makeCommentLink(
+								$sectionTitle, $wgLang->getArrow() . $auto, $wikiId, 'noclasses'
+							);
+							$auto = '';
 						} else {
 							$link = '';
 						}
@@ -1181,10 +1184,11 @@ class Linker {
 						# autocomment $postsep written summary (/* section */ summary)
 						$auto .= wfMessage( 'colon-separator' )->inContentLanguage()->escaped();
 					}
-					$auto = '<span class="autocomment">' . $auto . '</span>';
-					$comment = $pre . $link . $wgLang->getDirMark()
-						. '<span dir="auto">' . $auto;
-					$append .= '</span>';
+					if ( $auto ) {
+						$auto = '<span dir="auto"><span class="autocomment">' . $auto . '</span>';
+						$append .= '</span>';
+					}
+					$comment = $pre . $link . $wgLang->getDirMark() . $auto;
 				}
 				return $comment;
 			},
diff --git a/tests/parser/parserTests.txt b/tests/parser/parserTests.txt
index 6d5054e6ce4..e034fec58df 100644
--- a/tests/parser/parserTests.txt
+++ b/tests/parser/parserTests.txt
@@ -24422,7 +24422,7 @@ comment title=[[Main Page]]
 !! wikitext
 /* External links */ removed bogus entries
 !! html/php
-<a href="/wiki/Main_Page#External_links" title="Main Page">→</a>‎<span dir="auto"><span class="autocomment">External links: </span> removed bogus entries</span>
+<a href="/wiki/Main_Page#External_links" title="Main Page">→External links</a>‎<span dir="auto"><span class="autocomment">: </span> removed bogus entries</span>
 !!end
 
 !! test
@@ -24432,7 +24432,7 @@ comment title=[[Main Page]]
 !! wikitext
 pre-comment text /* External links */ removed bogus entries
 !! html/php
-pre-comment text <a href="/wiki/Main_Page#External_links" title="Main Page">→</a>‎<span dir="auto"><span class="autocomment">External links: </span> removed bogus entries</span>
+pre-comment text <a href="/wiki/Main_Page#External_links" title="Main Page">→External links</a>‎<span dir="auto"><span class="autocomment">: </span> removed bogus entries</span>
 !!end
 
 !! test
@@ -24442,7 +24442,7 @@ comment local title=[[Main Page]]
 !! wikitext
 /* External links */ removed bogus entries
 !! html/php
-<a href="#External_links">→</a>‎<span dir="auto"><span class="autocomment">External links: </span> removed bogus entries</span>
+<a href="#External_links">→External links</a>‎<span dir="auto"><span class="autocomment">: </span> removed bogus entries</span>
 !!end
 
 !! test
@@ -24553,7 +24553,7 @@ title=[[Main Page]]
 !! wikitext
 /* __hello__world__ */
 !! html/php
-<a href="/wiki/Main_Page#hello_world" title="Main Page">→</a>‎<span dir="auto"><span class="autocomment">__hello__world__</span></span>
+<a href="/wiki/Main_Page#hello_world" title="Main Page">→__hello__world__</a>‎
 !! end
 
 !! test
diff --git a/tests/phpunit/includes/LinkerTest.php b/tests/phpunit/includes/LinkerTest.php
index b8aecc05a52..52a3c914fbc 100644
--- a/tests/phpunit/includes/LinkerTest.php
+++ b/tests/phpunit/includes/LinkerTest.php
@@ -152,43 +152,43 @@ class LinkerTest extends MediaWikiLangTestCase {
 			],
 			// Linker::formatAutocomments
 			[
-				'<a href="/wiki/Special:BlankPage#autocomment" title="Special:BlankPage">→</a>‎<span dir="auto"><span class="autocomment">autocomment</span></span>',
+				'<a href="/wiki/Special:BlankPage#autocomment" title="Special:BlankPage">→autocomment</a>‎',
 				"/* autocomment */",
 			],
 			[
-				'<a href="/wiki/Special:BlankPage#linkie.3F" title="Special:BlankPage">→</a>‎<span dir="auto"><span class="autocomment"><a href="/wiki/index.php?title=Linkie%3F&amp;action=edit&amp;redlink=1" class="new" title="Linkie? (page does not exist)">linkie?</a></span></span>',
+				'<a href="/wiki/Special:BlankPage#linkie.3F" title="Special:BlankPage">→<a href="/wiki/index.php?title=Linkie%3F&amp;action=edit&amp;redlink=1" class="new" title="Linkie? (page does not exist)">linkie?</a></a>‎',
 				"/* [[linkie?]] */",
 			],
 			[
-				'<a href="/wiki/Special:BlankPage#autocomment" title="Special:BlankPage">→</a>‎<span dir="auto"><span class="autocomment">autocomment: </span> post</span>',
+				'<a href="/wiki/Special:BlankPage#autocomment" title="Special:BlankPage">→autocomment</a>‎<span dir="auto"><span class="autocomment">: </span> post</span>',
 				"/* autocomment */ post",
 			],
 			[
-				'pre <a href="/wiki/Special:BlankPage#autocomment" title="Special:BlankPage">→</a>‎<span dir="auto"><span class="autocomment">autocomment</span></span>',
+				'pre <a href="/wiki/Special:BlankPage#autocomment" title="Special:BlankPage">→autocomment</a>‎',
 				"pre /* autocomment */",
 			],
 			[
-				'pre <a href="/wiki/Special:BlankPage#autocomment" title="Special:BlankPage">→</a>‎<span dir="auto"><span class="autocomment">autocomment: </span> post</span>',
+				'pre <a href="/wiki/Special:BlankPage#autocomment" title="Special:BlankPage">→autocomment</a>‎<span dir="auto"><span class="autocomment">: </span> post</span>',
 				"pre /* autocomment */ post",
 			],
 			[
-				'<a href="/wiki/Special:BlankPage#autocomment" title="Special:BlankPage">→</a>‎<span dir="auto"><span class="autocomment">autocomment: </span> multiple? <a href="/wiki/Special:BlankPage#autocomment2" title="Special:BlankPage">→</a>‎<span dir="auto"><span class="autocomment">autocomment2: </span> </span></span>',
-				"/* autocomment */ multiple? /* autocomment2 */ ",
+				'<a href="/wiki/Special:BlankPage#autocomment" title="Special:BlankPage">→autocomment</a>‎<span dir="auto"><span class="autocomment">: </span> multiple? <a href="/wiki/Special:BlankPage#autocomment2" title="Special:BlankPage">→autocomment2</a>‎</span>',
+				"/* autocomment */ multiple? /* autocomment2 */",
 			],
 			[
-				'<a href="/wiki/Special:BlankPage#autocomment_containing_.2F.2A" title="Special:BlankPage">→</a>‎<span dir="auto"><span class="autocomment">autocomment containing /*: </span> T70361</span>',
+				'<a href="/wiki/Special:BlankPage#autocomment_containing_.2F.2A" title="Special:BlankPage">→autocomment containing /*</a>‎<span dir="auto"><span class="autocomment">: </span> T70361</span>',
 				"/* autocomment containing /* */ T70361"
 			],
 			[
-				'<a href="/wiki/Special:BlankPage#autocomment_containing_.22quotes.22" title="Special:BlankPage">→</a>‎<span dir="auto"><span class="autocomment">autocomment containing &quot;quotes&quot;</span></span>',
+				'<a href="/wiki/Special:BlankPage#autocomment_containing_.22quotes.22" title="Special:BlankPage">→autocomment containing &quot;quotes&quot;</a>‎',
 				"/* autocomment containing \"quotes\" */"
 			],
 			[
-				'<a href="/wiki/Special:BlankPage#autocomment_containing_.3Cscript.3Etags.3C.2Fscript.3E" title="Special:BlankPage">→</a>‎<span dir="auto"><span class="autocomment">autocomment containing &lt;script&gt;tags&lt;/script&gt;</span></span>',
+				'<a href="/wiki/Special:BlankPage#autocomment_containing_.3Cscript.3Etags.3C.2Fscript.3E" title="Special:BlankPage">→autocomment containing &lt;script&gt;tags&lt;/script&gt;</a>‎',
 				"/* autocomment containing <script>tags</script> */"
 			],
 			[
-				'<a href="#autocomment">→</a>‎<span dir="auto"><span class="autocomment">autocomment</span></span>',
+				'<a href="#autocomment">→autocomment</a>‎',
 				"/* autocomment */",
 				false, true
 			],
@@ -198,12 +198,12 @@ class LinkerTest extends MediaWikiLangTestCase {
 				null
 			],
 			[
-				'<a href="/wiki/Special:BlankPage#autocomment" title="Special:BlankPage">→</a>‎<span dir="auto"><span class="autocomment">autocomment</span></span>',
+				'<a href="/wiki/Special:BlankPage#autocomment" title="Special:BlankPage">→autocomment</a>‎',
 				"/* autocomment */",
 				false, false
 			],
 			[
-				'<a class="external" rel="nofollow" href="//en.example.org/w/Special:BlankPage#autocomment">→</a>‎<span dir="auto"><span class="autocomment">autocomment</span></span>',
+				'<a class="external" rel="nofollow" href="//en.example.org/w/Special:BlankPage#autocomment">→autocomment</a>‎',
 				"/* autocomment */",
 				false, false, $wikiId
 			],