diff --git a/javalib/src/main/scala/java/io/BufferedReader.scala b/javalib/src/main/scala/java/io/BufferedReader.scala
index 3257c5b9d1..4cb0afdd32 100644
--- a/javalib/src/main/scala/java/io/BufferedReader.scala
+++ b/javalib/src/main/scala/java/io/BufferedReader.scala
@@ -16,7 +16,9 @@ class BufferedReader(in: Reader, sz: Int) extends Reader {
 
   def this(in: Reader) = this(in, 4096)
 
-  private[this] var buf = new Array[Char](sz)
+  // Workaround 2.11 with no-specialization ; buf should be initialized on the same line
+  private[this] var buf: Array[Char] = null
+  buf = new Array[Char](sz)
 
   /** Last valid value in the buffer (exclusive) */
   private[this] var end = 0