diff --git a/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/transport/AbstractSimpleTransportTestCase.java b/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/transport/AbstractSimpleTransportTestCase.java
index 840ccd611c52f..34f67ac78a41c 100644
--- a/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/transport/AbstractSimpleTransportTestCase.java
+++ b/test/framework/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/transport/AbstractSimpleTransportTestCase.java
@@ -3369,7 +3369,7 @@ public void testWatchdogLogging() {
                 "stuck threads logging",
                 ThreadWatchdog.class.getCanonicalName(),
                 Level.WARN,
-                "the following threads are active but did not make progress in the preceding [5s]: [" + threadName + "]"
+                "the following threads are active but did not make progress in the preceding [5s]: [*" + threadName + "*]"
             )
         );
         safeAwait(barrier);