diff --git a/src/material/tabs/paginated-tab-header.ts b/src/material/tabs/paginated-tab-header.ts
index c95ca6c149bf..7781faf3baa2 100644
--- a/src/material/tabs/paginated-tab-header.ts
+++ b/src/material/tabs/paginated-tab-header.ts
@@ -24,9 +24,6 @@ import {
   numberAttribute,
   Output,
   ANIMATION_MODULE_TYPE,
-  afterNextRender,
-  inject,
-  Injector,
 } from '@angular/core';
 import {Direction, Directionality} from '@angular/cdk/bidi';
 import {ViewportRuler} from '@angular/cdk/scrolling';
@@ -42,7 +39,7 @@ import {
   timer,
   fromEvent,
 } from 'rxjs';
-import {switchMap, startWith, skip, takeUntil, filter} from 'rxjs/operators';
+import {take, switchMap, startWith, skip, takeUntil, filter} from 'rxjs/operators';
 import {Platform, normalizePassiveListenerOptions} from '@angular/cdk/platform';
 
 /** Config used to bind passive event listeners */
@@ -156,8 +153,6 @@ export abstract class MatPaginatedTabHeader
   /** Event emitted when a label is focused. */
   @Output() readonly indexFocused: EventEmitter<number> = new EventEmitter<number>();
 
-  private _injector = inject(Injector);
-
   constructor(
     protected _elementRef: ElementRef<HTMLElement>,
     protected _changeDetectorRef: ChangeDetectorRef,
@@ -214,9 +209,9 @@ export abstract class MatPaginatedTabHeader
 
     // Defer the first call in order to allow for slower browsers to lay out the elements.
     // This helps in cases where the user lands directly on a page with paginated tabs.
-    // TODO(mmalerba): Consider breaking this into multiple `afterNextRender` calls with explicit
-    //  phase.
-    afterNextRender(realign, {injector: this._injector});
+    // Note that we use `onStable` instead of `requestAnimationFrame`, because the latter
+    // can hold up tests that are in a background tab.
+    this._ngZone.onStable.pipe(take(1)).subscribe(realign);
 
     // On dir change or window resize, realign the ink bar and update the orientation of
     // the key manager if the direction has changed.