diff --git a/pkg/query/queryexecute/execute.go b/pkg/query/queryexecute/execute.go
index c64fb436a..3095b28d5 100644
--- a/pkg/query/queryexecute/execute.go
+++ b/pkg/query/queryexecute/execute.go
@@ -99,6 +99,12 @@ func executeQueries(ctx context.Context, initData *query.InitData) int {
 	utils.LogTime("queryexecute.executeQueries start")
 	defer utils.LogTime("queryexecute.executeQueries end")
 
+	// Check if Client is nil - this can happen if initialization failed
+	if initData.Client == nil {
+		error_helpers.ShowWarning("cannot execute queries: database client is not initialized")
+		return len(initData.Queries)
+	}
+
 	// failures return the number of queries that failed and also the number of rows that
 	// returned errors
 	failures := 0
diff --git a/pkg/query/queryexecute/execute_test.go b/pkg/query/queryexecute/execute_test.go
index a42e102e9..2dbe7fb6f 100644
--- a/pkg/query/queryexecute/execute_test.go
+++ b/pkg/query/queryexecute/execute_test.go
@@ -222,6 +222,36 @@ func TestExecuteQueries_EmptyQueriesList(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Equal(t, 0, failures, "Should return 0 failures for empty queries list")
 }
 
+// TestExecuteQueries_NilClient tests that executeQueries handles nil Client gracefully
+// Related to issue #4797
+func TestExecuteQueries_NilClient(t *testing.T) {
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	// Create initData with nil Client but with queries
+	// This simulates a scenario where initialization failed but queries were still provided
+	initData := &query.InitData{
+		InitData: *initialisation.NewInitData(),
+		Queries: []*modconfig.ResolvedQuery{
+			{
+				Name:       "test_query",
+				ExecuteSQL: "SELECT 1",
+				RawSQL:     "SELECT 1",
+			},
+		},
+	}
+	// Explicitly set Client to nil to test the nil case
+	initData.Client = nil
+
+	// This should not panic - it should handle nil Client gracefully
+	// Currently this will panic with nil pointer dereference
+	failures := executeQueries(ctx, initData)
+
+	// We expect 1 failure (the query should fail gracefully, not panic)
+	if failures != 1 {
+		t.Errorf("Expected 1 failure with nil client, got %d", failures)
+	}
+}
+
 // Test Suite: Context and Cancellation
 
 func TestRunBatchSession_CancelHandlerSetup(t *testing.T) {