diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/connection/netconf.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/connection/netconf.py
index 3b5ec2531e9..22987f6a34b 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/connection/netconf.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/connection/netconf.py
@@ -321,6 +321,8 @@ class Connection(NetworkConnectionBase):
                 timeout=self.get_option('persistent_connect_timeout'),
                 ssh_config=self._ssh_config
             )
+
+            self._manager._timeout = self.get_option('persistent_command_timeout')
         except SSHUnknownHostError as exc:
             raise AnsibleConnectionFailure(to_native(exc))
         except ImportError as exc: