diff --git a/instrumentor/instrumentation/instrumentation.go b/instrumentor/instrumentation/instrumentation.go
index 67bee70b31..eae78c988f 100644
--- a/instrumentor/instrumentation/instrumentation.go
+++ b/instrumentor/instrumentation/instrumentation.go
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ func ApplyInstrumentationDevicesToPodTemplate(original *corev1.PodTemplateSpec,
 	var modifiedContainers []corev1.Container
 	for _, container := range original.Spec.Containers {
 		containerLanguage := getLanguageOfContainer(runtimeDetails, container.Name)
-		if containerLanguage == nil || *containerLanguage == common.UnknownProgrammingLanguage || *containerLanguage == common.IgnoredProgrammingLanguage {
+		if containerLanguage == nil || *containerLanguage == common.UnknownProgrammingLanguage || *containerLanguage == common.IgnoredProgrammingLanguage || *containerLanguage == common.NginxProgrammingLanguage {
 			// always patch the env vars, even if the language is unknown or ignored.
 			// this is necessary to sync the existing envs with the missing language if changed for any reason.
 			err = patchEnvVarsForContainer(runtimeDetails, &container, nil, *containerLanguage, manifestEnvOriginal)