diff --git a/init-repository b/init-repository
index 6f02a142..f449ddd4 100755
--- a/init-repository
+++ b/init-repository
@@ -559,7 +559,7 @@ sub git_clone_one_submodule
         }
     }
 
-    my $do_clone = (! -d "$submodule/.git");
+    my $do_clone = (! -e "$submodule/.git");
     if ($do_clone) {
         $self->exe('git', 'clone', @reference_args, ($mirror ? $mirror : $url), $submodule);
     }