diff --git a/code/nel/include/nel/3d/font_generator.h b/code/nel/include/nel/3d/font_generator.h
index e71551c43..b69249d58 100644
--- a/code/nel/include/nel/3d/font_generator.h
+++ b/code/nel/include/nel/3d/font_generator.h
@@ -21,8 +21,12 @@
 #undef NL_DONT_USE_EXTERNAL_CODE
 
 #ifndef NL_DONT_USE_EXTERNAL_CODE
-#include <ft2build.h>
-#include FT_FREETYPE_H
+
+// forward declarations to avoid including freetype.h in headers
+typedef int FT_Error;
+typedef struct FT_LibraryRec_ *FT_Library;
+typedef struct FT_FaceRec_* FT_Face;
+
 #else // NL_DONT_USE_EXTERNAL_CODE
 
 #endif // NL_DONT_USE_EXTERNAL_CODE