diff --git a/link.module b/link.module
index 1592879..831e8a3 100644
--- a/link.module
+++ b/link.module
@@ -442,8 +442,10 @@ function _link_sanitize(&$item, $delta, &$field, &$node) {
     $item['attributes']['rel'] = str_replace('nofollow', '', $item['attributes']['rel']);
   }
   // Some old field data may have $element['#item']['attributes']['rel'] as an array, which will cause errors:
-  if (is_array($element['#item']['attributes']['rel'])) {
-    unset($element['#item']['attributes']['rel']);
+  if (isset($element)) {
+    if (is_array($element['#item']['attributes']['rel'])) {
+      unset($element['#item']['attributes']['rel']);
+    }
   }
 
   // Handle "title" link attribute