diff --git a/vllm/distributed/kv_transfer/kv_connector/v1/nixl_connector.py b/vllm/distributed/kv_transfer/kv_connector/v1/nixl_connector.py
index 490f209373db..6a2434ddce8b 100644
--- a/vllm/distributed/kv_transfer/kv_connector/v1/nixl_connector.py
+++ b/vllm/distributed/kv_transfer/kv_connector/v1/nixl_connector.py
@@ -241,7 +241,8 @@ class NixlConnector(KVConnectorBase_V1):
         return self.connector_worker.get_block_ids_with_load_errors()
 
     def get_kv_connector_stats(self) -> KVConnectorStats | None:
-        assert self.connector_worker is not None
+        if self.connector_worker is None:
+            return None
         return self.connector_worker.get_kv_connector_stats()
 
     @classmethod