diff --git a/changelog.d/17295.bugfix b/changelog.d/17295.bugfix
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4484253bb8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/17295.bugfix
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Fix edge case in `/sync` returning the wrong the state when using sharded event persisters.
diff --git a/synapse/storage/databases/main/stream.py b/synapse/storage/databases/main/stream.py
index 680014bad5..dd5f76dd53 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/databases/main/stream.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/databases/main/stream.py
@@ -931,8 +931,6 @@ class StreamWorkerStore(EventsWorkerStore, SQLBaseStore):
             # ordering of the operand queries but there is no actual gurantee that it
             # has this behavior in all scenarios so we need the extra `ORDER BY` at the
             # bottom.
-            #
-            # We're using the subquery syntax for SQLite compatibility.
             sql = """
                 SELECT * FROM (
                     SELECT instance_name, stream_ordering, topological_ordering, event_id
diff --git a/tests/storage/test_stream.py b/tests/storage/test_stream.py
index 7488eae0ee..2dd4083199 100644
--- a/tests/storage/test_stream.py
+++ b/tests/storage/test_stream.py
@@ -468,7 +468,7 @@ class GetLastEventInRoomBeforeStreamOrderingTestCase(HomeserverTestCase):
         self.assertEqual(
             last_event,
             event_response3["event_id"],
-            f"We expected {event_response3["event_id"]} but saw {last_event} which corresponds to"
+            f"We expected {event_response3['event_id']} but saw {last_event} which corresponds to "
             + str(
                 {
                     "event1": event_response1["event_id"],
@@ -526,7 +526,7 @@ class GetLastEventInRoomBeforeStreamOrderingTestCase(HomeserverTestCase):
         self.assertEqual(
             last_event,
             event_response2["event_id"],
-            f"We expected {event_response2["event_id"]} but saw {last_event} which corresponds to"
+            f"We expected {event_response2['event_id']} but saw {last_event} which corresponds to "
             + str(
                 {
                     "event1": event_response1["event_id"],