diff --git a/pkg/storage/client_merge_test.go b/pkg/storage/client_merge_test.go
index 1507480fcc91..002bd590c968 100644
--- a/pkg/storage/client_merge_test.go
+++ b/pkg/storage/client_merge_test.go
@@ -27,9 +27,6 @@ import (
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 
-	"github.com/gogo/protobuf/proto"
-	"github.com/pkg/errors"
-
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/config"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/gossip"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/internal/client"
@@ -54,6 +51,8 @@ import (
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/util/retry"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/util/syncutil"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/util/timeutil"
+	"github.com/gogo/protobuf/proto"
+	"github.com/pkg/errors"
 )
 
 func adminMergeArgs(key roachpb.Key) *roachpb.AdminMergeRequest {
@@ -1920,7 +1919,7 @@ func TestStoreRangeMergeAbandonedFollowers(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	}
 
-	// Verify that the abandoned ranges on store2 can only GC'd from left to
+	// Verify that the abandoned ranges on store2 can only be GC'd from left to
 	// right.
 	if err := store2.ManualReplicaGC(repls[2]); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
@@ -1962,6 +1961,73 @@ func TestStoreRangeMergeAbandonedFollowers(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// TestStoreRangeMergeAbandonedFollowersAutomaticallyGarbageCollected verifies
+// that the replica GC queue will clean up an abandoned RHS replica whose
+// destroyStatus is destroyReasonMergePending. The RHS replica ends up in this
+// state when its merge watcher goroutine notices that the merge committed, and
+// thus marks it as destroyed with reason destroyReasonMergePending, but the
+// corresponding LHS is rebalanced off the store before it can apply the merge
+// trigger. The replica GC queue would previously refuse to GC the abandoned
+// RHS, as it interpreted destroyReasonMergePending to mean that the RHS replica
+// had already been garbage collected.
+func TestStoreRangeMergeAbandonedFollowersAutomaticallyGarbageCollected(t *testing.T) {
+	defer leaktest.AfterTest(t)()
+
+	t.Skip("this test occasionally flakes if the RHS quiesces")
+
+	ctx := context.Background()
+	storeCfg := storage.TestStoreConfig(nil)
+	storeCfg.TestingKnobs.DisableReplicateQueue = true
+	mtc := &multiTestContext{storeConfig: &storeCfg}
+	mtc.Start(t, 3)
+	defer mtc.Stop()
+	store0, store2 := mtc.Store(0), mtc.Store(2)
+
+	mtc.replicateRange(roachpb.RangeID(1), 1, 2)
+	lhsDesc, rhsDesc, err := createSplitRanges(ctx, store0)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	// Make store2 the leaseholder for the RHS.
+	mtc.transferLease(ctx, rhsDesc.RangeID, 0, 2)
+
+	// Start dropping all Raft traffic to the LHS replica on store2 so that it
+	// won't be aware that there is a merge in progress.
+	mtc.transport.Listen(store2.Ident.StoreID, &unreliableRaftHandler{
+		rangeID:            lhsDesc.RangeID,
+		RaftMessageHandler: store2,
+	})
+
+	// Perform the merge. The LHS replica on store2 whon't hear about this merge
+	// and thus won't subsume its RHS replica. The RHS replica's merge watcher
+	// goroutine will, however, notice the merge and mark the RHS replica as
+	// destroyed with reason destroyReasonMergePending.
+	args := adminMergeArgs(lhsDesc.StartKey.AsRawKey())
+	_, pErr := client.SendWrapped(ctx, store0.TestSender(), args)
+	if pErr != nil {
+		t.Fatal(pErr)
+	}
+
+	// Remove the merged range from store2. Its replicas of both the LHS and RHS
+	// are now eligible for GC.
+	mtc.unreplicateRange(lhsDesc.RangeID, 2)
+
+	// Note that we purposely do not call store.ManualReplicaGC here, as that
+	// calls replicaGCQueue.process directly, bypassing the logic in
+	// baseQueue.MaybeAdd and baseQueue.Add. We specifically want to test that
+	// queuing logic, which has been broken in the past.
+	testutils.SucceedsSoon(t, func() error {
+		if _, err := store2.GetReplica(lhsDesc.RangeID); err == nil {
+			return errors.New("lhs not destroyed")
+		}
+		if _, err := store2.GetReplica(rhsDesc.RangeID); err == nil {
+			return errors.New("rhs not destroyed")
+		}
+		return nil
+	})
+}
+
 func TestStoreRangeMergeDeadFollowerBeforeTxn(t *testing.T) {
 	defer leaktest.AfterTest(t)()
 
diff --git a/pkg/storage/queue.go b/pkg/storage/queue.go
index e7cf874a73e4..d88ed72be550 100644
--- a/pkg/storage/queue.go
+++ b/pkg/storage/queue.go
@@ -714,7 +714,7 @@ func (bq *baseQueue) processReplica(queueCtx context.Context, repl *Replica) err
 	}
 
 	if reason, err := repl.IsDestroyed(); err != nil {
-		if !bq.queueConfig.processDestroyedReplicas || reason != destroyReasonRemovalPending {
+		if !bq.queueConfig.processDestroyedReplicas || reason == destroyReasonRemoved {
 			if log.V(3) {
 				log.Infof(queueCtx, "replica destroyed (%s); skipping", err)
 			}
diff --git a/pkg/storage/replica_gc_queue.go b/pkg/storage/replica_gc_queue.go
index 9effb72612d9..5654ee3795e0 100644
--- a/pkg/storage/replica_gc_queue.go
+++ b/pkg/storage/replica_gc_queue.go
@@ -259,6 +259,11 @@ func (rgcq *replicaGCQueue) process(
 			if leftReplyDesc := rs[0]; !leftDesc.Equal(leftReplyDesc) {
 				log.VEventf(ctx, 1, "left neighbor %s not up-to-date with meta descriptor %s; cannot safely GC range yet",
 					leftDesc, leftReplyDesc)
+				// Chances are that the left replica needs to be GC'd. Since we don't
+				// have definitive proof, queue it with a low priority.
+				if _, err := rgcq.Add(leftRepl, replicaGCPriorityDefault); err != nil {
+					log.Errorf(ctx, "unable to add %s to replica GC queue: %s", leftRepl, err)
+				}
 				return nil
 			}
 		}