diff --git a/litellm/router.py b/litellm/router.py
index b93a4abdf03..5ce49e7becb 100644
--- a/litellm/router.py
+++ b/litellm/router.py
@@ -4419,57 +4419,17 @@ class Router:
         stream=False,
         **kwargs,
     ):
-        parent_otel_span: Final = _get_parent_otel_span_from_kwargs(kwargs)
-        ### FLOW ITEM ###
-        _request_id: Final = str(uuid.uuid4())
-        item: Final = FlowItem(
-            priority=priority,  # 👈 SET PRIORITY FOR REQUEST
-            request_id=_request_id,  # 👈 SET REQUEST ID
-            model_name=model,  # 👈 SAME as 'Router'
+        await self._wait_for_scheduler_turn(
+            model=model, priority=priority, parent_otel_span=_get_parent_otel_span_from_kwargs(kwargs)
         )
-        ### [fin] ###
-
-        ## ADDS REQUEST TO QUEUE ##
-        await self.scheduler.add_request(request=item)
-
-        ## POLL QUEUE
-        end_time: Final = time.monotonic() + self.timeout
-        curr_time = time.monotonic()
-        poll_interval: Final = self.scheduler.polling_interval  # poll every 3ms
-        make_request = False
-
-        while curr_time < end_time:
-            _healthy_deployments, _ = await self._async_get_healthy_deployments(
-                model=model, parent_otel_span=parent_otel_span
-            )
-            make_request = await self.scheduler.poll(  ## POLL QUEUE ## - returns 'True' if there's healthy deployments OR if request is at top of queue
-                id=item.request_id,
-                model_name=item.model_name,
-                health_deployments=_healthy_deployments,
-            )
-            if make_request:  ## IF TRUE -> MAKE REQUEST
-                break
-            else:  ## ELSE -> loop till default_timeout
-                await asyncio.sleep(poll_interval)
-                curr_time = time.monotonic()
-
-        if make_request:
-            try:
-                _response: Final = await self.acompletion(model=model, messages=messages, stream=stream, **kwargs)
-                _response._hidden_params.setdefault("additional_headers", {})
-                _response._hidden_params["additional_headers"].update({"x-litellm-request-prioritization-used": True})
-                return _response
-            except Exception as e:
-                setattr(e, "priority", priority)
-                raise e
-        else:
-            # Clean up the request from the scheduler queue also before raising the timeout exception
-            await self.scheduler.remove_request(request_id=item.request_id, model_name=item.model_name)
-            raise litellm.Timeout(
-                message="Request timed out while polling queue",
-                model=model,
-                llm_provider="openai",
-            )
+        try:
+            _response: Final = await self.acompletion(model=model, messages=messages, stream=stream, **kwargs)
+            _response._hidden_params.setdefault("additional_headers", {})
+            _response._hidden_params["additional_headers"].update({"x-litellm-request-prioritization-used": True})
+            return _response
+        except Exception as e:
+            setattr(e, "priority", priority)
+            raise e
 
     async def _schedule_factory(
         self,
@@ -4479,60 +4439,29 @@ class Router:
         args: tuple[object, ...],
         kwargs: dict[str, object],
     ):
-        parent_otel_span: Final = _get_parent_otel_span_from_kwargs(kwargs)
-        ### FLOW ITEM ###
-        _request_id: Final = str(uuid.uuid4())
-        item: Final = FlowItem(
-            priority=priority,  # 👈 SET PRIORITY FOR REQUEST
-            request_id=_request_id,  # 👈 SET REQUEST ID
-            model_name=model,  # 👈 SAME as 'Router'
+        await self._wait_for_scheduler_turn(
+            model=model, priority=priority, parent_otel_span=_get_parent_otel_span_from_kwargs(kwargs)
         )
-        ### [fin] ###
+        try:
+            _response: Final = await original_function(*args, **kwargs)
+            if isinstance(_response._hidden_params, dict):
+                _response._hidden_params.setdefault("additional_headers", {})
+                _response._hidden_params["additional_headers"].update({"x-litellm-request-prioritization-used": True})
+            return _response
+        except Exception as e:
+            setattr(e, "priority", priority)
+            raise e
 
-        ## ADDS REQUEST TO QUEUE ##
-        await self.scheduler.add_request(request=item)
+    async def _wait_for_scheduler_turn(self, model: str, priority: int, parent_otel_span: Span | None) -> None:
+        async def healthy_deployments() -> Sequence[object]:
+            deployments, _ = await self._async_get_healthy_deployments(model=model, parent_otel_span=parent_otel_span)
+            return deployments
 
-        ## POLL QUEUE
-        end_time: Final = time.monotonic() + self.timeout
-        curr_time = time.monotonic()
-        poll_interval: Final = self.scheduler.polling_interval  # poll every 3ms
-        make_request = False
-
-        while curr_time < end_time:
-            _healthy_deployments, _ = await self._async_get_healthy_deployments(
-                model=model, parent_otel_span=parent_otel_span
-            )
-            make_request = await self.scheduler.poll(  ## POLL QUEUE ## - returns 'True' if there's healthy deployments OR if request is at top of queue
-                id=item.request_id,
-                model_name=item.model_name,
-                health_deployments=_healthy_deployments,
-            )
-            if make_request:  ## IF TRUE -> MAKE REQUEST
-                break
-            else:  ## ELSE -> loop till default_timeout
-                await asyncio.sleep(poll_interval)
-                curr_time = time.monotonic()
-
-        if make_request:
-            try:
-                _response: Final = await original_function(*args, **kwargs)
-                if isinstance(_response._hidden_params, dict):
-                    _response._hidden_params.setdefault("additional_headers", {})
-                    _response._hidden_params["additional_headers"].update(
-                        {"x-litellm-request-prioritization-used": True}
-                    )
-                return _response
-            except Exception as e:
-                setattr(e, "priority", priority)
-                raise e
-        else:
-            # Clean up the request from the scheduler queue also before raising the timeout exception
-            await self.scheduler.remove_request(request_id=item.request_id, model_name=item.model_name)
-            raise litellm.Timeout(
-                message="Request timed out while polling queue",
-                model=model,
-                llm_provider="openai",
-            )
+        await self.scheduler.wait_for_turn(
+            request=FlowItem(priority=priority, request_id=str(uuid.uuid4()), model_name=model),
+            timeout=self.timeout,
+            get_healthy_deployments=healthy_deployments,
+        )
 
     def _is_prompt_management_model(self, model: str) -> bool:
         model_list: Final = self.get_model_list(model_name=model)
diff --git a/litellm/scheduler.py b/litellm/scheduler.py
index e19e386f527..8cc5c08e7d7 100644
--- a/litellm/scheduler.py
+++ b/litellm/scheduler.py
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
+import asyncio
 import enum
 import heapq
+import time
+from collections.abc import Awaitable, Callable, Sequence
 from typing import Final
 
 from pydantic import BaseModel
@@ -8,6 +11,7 @@ from litellm import print_verbose
 from litellm._internal_context import with_service_target
 from litellm.caching.caching import DualCache, RedisCache
 from litellm.constants import DEFAULT_IN_MEMORY_TTL, DEFAULT_POLLING_INTERVAL
+from litellm.exceptions import Timeout
 
 SCHEDULER_QUEUE_TARGET: Final = "scheduler_queue"
 
@@ -52,7 +56,7 @@ class Scheduler:
         # save the queue
         await self.save_queue(queue=queue, model_name=request.model_name)
 
-    async def poll(self, id: str, model_name: str, health_deployments: list) -> bool:
+    async def poll(self, id: str, model_name: str, health_deployments: Sequence[object]) -> bool:
         """
         Return if request can be processed.
 
@@ -64,29 +68,44 @@ class Scheduler:
             * If no healthy deployments available
             * AND request not at the top of queue
         """
+        print_verbose(f"len(health_deployments): {len(health_deployments)}")
+        if len(health_deployments) > 0:
+            return True
+
         queue: Final = await self.get_queue(model_name=model_name)
         if not queue:
             raise Exception(f"Incorrectly setup. Queue is invalid. Queue={queue}")
 
-        # ------------
-        # Setup values
-        # ------------
-
-        print_verbose(f"len(health_deployments): {len(health_deployments)}")
-        if len(health_deployments) == 0:
-            print_verbose(f"queue: {queue}, seeking id={id}")
-            # Check if the id is at the top of the heap
-            if queue[0][1] == id:
-                # Remove the item from the queue
-                heapq.heappop(queue)
-                await self.save_queue(queue=queue, model_name=model_name)
-                print_verbose(f"Popped id: {id}")
-                return True
-            else:
-                return False
+        print_verbose(f"queue: {queue}, seeking id={id}")
+        if queue[0][1] != id:
+            return False
 
+        heapq.heappop(queue)
+        await self.save_queue(queue=queue, model_name=model_name)
+        print_verbose(f"Popped id: {id}")
         return True
 
+    async def wait_for_turn(
+        self,
+        request: FlowItem,
+        timeout: float,
+        get_healthy_deployments: Callable[[], Awaitable[Sequence[object]]],
+    ) -> None:
+        try:
+            await self.add_request(request=request)
+            end_time: Final = time.monotonic() + timeout
+            while time.monotonic() < end_time:
+                if await self.poll(
+                    id=request.request_id,
+                    model_name=request.model_name,
+                    health_deployments=await get_healthy_deployments(),
+                ):
+                    return
+                await asyncio.sleep(self.polling_interval)
+        finally:
+            await asyncio.shield(self.remove_request(request_id=request.request_id, model_name=request.model_name))
+        raise Timeout(message="Request timed out while polling queue", model=request.model_name, llm_provider="openai")
+
     async def remove_request(self, request_id: str, model_name: str) -> None:
         """
         Remove a specific request from the priority queue for a model.
diff --git a/tests/code_coverage_tests/router_code_coverage.py b/tests/code_coverage_tests/router_code_coverage.py
index f55f415b76c..b9237c4e1e4 100644
--- a/tests/code_coverage_tests/router_code_coverage.py
+++ b/tests/code_coverage_tests/router_code_coverage.py
@@ -90,6 +90,7 @@ ignored_function_names = [
     "_resolve_claude_code_session_router",  # Tested through Claude Code session routing in test_router.py
     "_get_claude_code_session_router_binding",  # Tested through the two-worker session routing test in test_router.py
     "_apply_updated_routing_strategy_args",  # Tested via update_settings in test_lowest_latency.py (file lacks "router" in name)
+    "_wait_for_scheduler_turn",  # Tested through prioritized acompletion and atext_completion in test_router.py
     "arm_routing_read_prefetch",  # Tested in tests/unit/caching/test_request_redis_batch_pre_call.py (file lacks "router" in name)
     "_async_get_available_deployment",  # Body of the `route {model}` phase wrapper, exercised through async_get_available_deployment in test_router.py
     "_async_get_available_deployment_for_pass_through",  # Same, through async_get_available_deployment_for_pass_through in test_router.py
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_router/test_router.py b/tests/unit/test_router/test_router.py
index 924375a18b7..e241d1a8b74 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_router/test_router.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_router/test_router.py
@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@ from litellm.router_utils.client_initalization_utils import MaxParallelRequestsL
 from litellm.router_utils.cooldown_handlers import _async_get_cooldown_deployments
 from litellm.router_utils.fallback_event_handlers import DISABLE_FALLBACKS_METADATA_KEY
 from litellm.router_utils.router_callbacks.track_deployment_metrics import get_deployment_successes_for_current_minute
+from litellm.scheduler import FlowItem
 from litellm.types.llms.openai import ChatCompletionRequest
 from litellm.types.router import Deployment, DeploymentTypedDict, LiteLLM_Params, ModelInfo, PreRoutingHookResponse, RetryPolicy
 
@@ -18683,6 +18684,64 @@ def test_access_windows_filter_reserved_deployments_method():
     ] == ["reserved-deployment", "open-deployment"]
 
 
+def _scheduled_router(timeout: float) -> Router:
+    return Router(
+        model_list=[
+            {
+                "model_name": "sched-model",
+                "litellm_params": {"model": "openai/sched-model", "api_key": "sk-fake", "mock_response": "hi"},
+                "model_info": {"id": "sched-deployment"},
+            }
+        ],
+        timeout=timeout,
+    )
+
+
+async def _send_scheduled_chat(router: Router, priority: int) -> object:
+    return await router.acompletion(
+        model="sched-model", messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "hi"}], priority=priority
+    )
+
+
+async def _send_scheduled_text(router: Router, priority: int) -> object:
+    return await router.atext_completion(model="sched-model", prompt="hi", priority=priority)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "send", [_send_scheduled_chat, _send_scheduled_text], ids=["schedule_acompletion", "schedule_factory"]
+)
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_admitted_prioritized_request_does_not_block_later_request_during_cooldown(
+    send: Callable[[Router, int], Awaitable[object]],
+):
+    from litellm.types.router import RouterRateLimitError
+
+    router: Final = _scheduled_router(timeout=1)
+    await send(router, 1)
+    _cool_down(router, "sched-deployment")
+
+    with pytest.raises(RouterRateLimitError, match="cooldown"):
+        await send(router, 2)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("stop_waiting", ["cancel", "timeout"])
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_prioritized_request_leaves_queue_when_it_stops_waiting(stop_waiting: Literal["cancel", "timeout"]):
+    router: Final = _scheduled_router(timeout=0.5)
+    _cool_down(router, "sched-deployment")
+    await router.scheduler.add_request(FlowItem(priority=0, request_id="head-of-queue", model_name="sched-model"))
+    waiting: Final = asyncio.create_task(_send_scheduled_chat(router, 5))
+    await asyncio.sleep(0.05)
+    assert len(await router.scheduler.get_queue("sched-model")) == 2
+
+    if stop_waiting == "cancel":
+        waiting.cancel()
+    with pytest.raises(asyncio.CancelledError if stop_waiting == "cancel" else litellm.Timeout):
+        await waiting
+
+    assert await router.scheduler.get_queue("sched-model") == [(0, "head-of-queue")]
+
+
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_bare_model_group_served_by_wildcard_deployment_uses_provider_prefixed_fallback_key() -> None:
     """Claude Code sends the bare "claude-sonnet-4-6" to /v1/messages; routing serves it through the
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_scheduler.py b/tests/unit/test_scheduler.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..2b643558089
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/test_scheduler.py
@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+import asyncio
+from collections.abc import Sequence
+from typing import Final
+
+import pytest
+
+from litellm.scheduler import FlowItem, Scheduler
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_poll_admits_request_missing_from_queue_while_a_deployment_is_healthy():
+    scheduler: Final = Scheduler()
+
+    assert await scheduler.poll(
+        id="erased-by-concurrent-write", model_name="sched-model", health_deployments=[{"model_info": {"id": "a"}}]
+    )
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_poll_during_cooldown_admits_only_the_head_of_the_queue():
+    scheduler: Final = Scheduler()
+    await scheduler.add_request(FlowItem(priority=2, request_id="later", model_name="sched-model"))
+    await scheduler.add_request(FlowItem(priority=1, request_id="head", model_name="sched-model"))
+
+    assert not await scheduler.poll(id="later", model_name="sched-model", health_deployments=[])
+    assert await scheduler.poll(id="head", model_name="sched-model", health_deployments=[])
+    assert await scheduler.get_queue("sched-model") == [(2, "later")]
+
+
+class _PausesAfterEnqueueScheduler(Scheduler):
+    def __init__(self) -> None:
+        super().__init__()
+        self.enqueued: Final = asyncio.Event()
+
+    async def add_request(self, request: FlowItem) -> None:
+        await super().add_request(request)
+        self.enqueued.set()
+        await asyncio.Event().wait()
+
+
+async def _no_healthy_deployments() -> Sequence[object]:
+    return ()
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_wait_for_turn_removes_entry_when_cancelled_mid_enqueue():
+    scheduler: Final = _PausesAfterEnqueueScheduler()
+    waiting: Final = asyncio.create_task(
+        scheduler.wait_for_turn(
+            request=FlowItem(priority=1, request_id="cancelled", model_name="sched-model"),
+            timeout=5,
+            get_healthy_deployments=_no_healthy_deployments,
+        )
+    )
+    await scheduler.enqueued.wait()
+    assert await scheduler.get_queue("sched-model") == [(1, "cancelled")]
+
+    waiting.cancel()
+    with pytest.raises(asyncio.CancelledError):
+        await waiting
+
+    assert await scheduler.get_queue("sched-model") == []
+
+
+class _HeldRemovalScheduler(Scheduler):
+    def __init__(self) -> None:
+        super().__init__()
+        self.removing: Final = asyncio.Event()
+        self.finish_removal: Final = asyncio.Event()
+
+    async def remove_request(self, request_id: str, model_name: str) -> None:
+        self.removing.set()
+        await self.finish_removal.wait()
+        await super().remove_request(request_id=request_id, model_name=model_name)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_wait_for_turn_finishes_removal_when_cancelled_again_during_cleanup():
+    scheduler: Final = _HeldRemovalScheduler()
+    await scheduler.add_request(FlowItem(priority=0, request_id="head", model_name="sched-model"))
+    polling: Final = asyncio.Event()
+
+    async def no_healthy_deployments() -> Sequence[object]:
+        polling.set()
+        return ()
+
+    waiting: Final = asyncio.create_task(
+        scheduler.wait_for_turn(
+            request=FlowItem(priority=1, request_id="cancelled", model_name="sched-model"),
+            timeout=5,
+            get_healthy_deployments=no_healthy_deployments,
+        )
+    )
+    await polling.wait()
+    waiting.cancel()
+    await scheduler.removing.wait()
+    waiting.cancel()
+    scheduler.finish_removal.set()
+    with pytest.raises(asyncio.CancelledError):
+        await waiting
+
+    assert await scheduler.get_queue("sched-model") == [(0, "head")]