diff --git a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/shard/IndexShard.java b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/shard/IndexShard.java
index d56d7471d498e..7fecc53826ff1 100644
--- a/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/shard/IndexShard.java
+++ b/server/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/shard/IndexShard.java
@@ -4491,14 +4491,17 @@ public void waitForEngineOrClosedShard(ActionListener<Void> listener) {
     }
 
     /**
-     * Registers a listener for an event when the shard advances to the provided primary term and segment generation
+     * Registers a listener for an event when the shard advances to the provided primary term and segment generation.
+     * Completes the listener with a {@link IndexShardClosedException} if the shard is closed.
      */
     public void waitForPrimaryTermAndGeneration(long primaryTerm, long segmentGeneration, ActionListener<Long> listener) {
-        waitForEngineOrClosedShard(
-            listener.delegateFailureAndWrap(
-                (l, ignored) -> getEngine().addPrimaryTermAndGenerationListener(primaryTerm, segmentGeneration, l)
-            )
-        );
+        waitForEngineOrClosedShard(listener.delegateFailureAndWrap((l, ignored) -> {
+            if (state == IndexShardState.CLOSED) {
+                l.onFailure(new IndexShardClosedException(shardId));
+            } else {
+                getEngine().addPrimaryTermAndGenerationListener(primaryTerm, segmentGeneration, l);
+            }
+        }));
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/shard/IndexShardTests.java b/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/shard/IndexShardTests.java
index c07b396626c45..975565b73a0d6 100644
--- a/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/shard/IndexShardTests.java
+++ b/server/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/index/shard/IndexShardTests.java
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@
 import org.apache.lucene.util.BytesRef;
 import org.apache.lucene.util.Constants;
 import org.elasticsearch.ElasticsearchException;
+import org.elasticsearch.ExceptionsHelper;
 import org.elasticsearch.action.ActionListener;
 import org.elasticsearch.action.admin.indices.flush.FlushRequest;
 import org.elasticsearch.action.admin.indices.forcemerge.ForceMergeRequest;
@@ -3334,6 +3335,21 @@ public void testWaitForClosedListener() throws IOException {
         assertThat("listener should have been called", called.get(), equalTo(true));
     }
 
+    public void testWaitForPrimaryTermAndGenerationFailsForClosedShard() throws IOException {
+        Settings settings = indexSettings(IndexVersion.current(), 1, 1).build();
+        IndexMetadata metadata = IndexMetadata.builder("test").putMapping("""
+            { "properties": { "foo":  { "type": "text"}}}""").settings(settings).primaryTerm(0, 1).build();
+        IndexShard initializingShard = newShard(new ShardId(metadata.getIndex(), 0), true, "n1", metadata, null);
+
+        var future = new PlainActionFuture<Long>();
+        initializingShard.waitForPrimaryTermAndGeneration(0L, 0L, future);
+
+        assertFalse("waitForPrimaryTermAndGeneration should be waiting", future.isDone());
+        closeShards(initializingShard);
+        // Should bail out earlier without calling the engine
+        assertNotNull(ExceptionsHelper.unwrap(expectThrows(Exception.class, future::get), IndexShardClosedException.class));
+    }
+
     public void testRecoverFromLocalShard() throws IOException {
         Settings settings = indexSettings(IndexVersion.current(), 1, 1).build();
         IndexMetadata metadata = IndexMetadata.builder("source")