diff --git a/templates/haproxy_cfg.jinja2 b/templates/haproxy_cfg.jinja2
index bc8ef970869ca070acf86de4d6bd8b8c2a673cfd..639ab91fb5e06ce50e806e15116536057a8414c3 100644
--- a/templates/haproxy_cfg.jinja2
+++ b/templates/haproxy_cfg.jinja2
@@ -272,7 +272,7 @@ backend backend_{{ external.key }}
 {% for line in external.extra|default([]) %}
   {{ line }}
 {% endfor %}
-  server server_{{ external.key }} {{ external.server }} check {{ external.options|default('') }}
+  server server_{{ external.key }} {{ external.server }}{{ external.check|default(true)|ternary(' check ','') }} {{ external.options|default('') }}
 {% endfor %}
 {% endfor %}
 {% if proxy_default_backend not in groups['webserver'] %}