diff --git a/datasette/views/table.py b/datasette/views/table.py
index cd4be823..94d2673b 100644
--- a/datasette/views/table.py
+++ b/datasette/views/table.py
@@ -630,7 +630,27 @@ class TableView(DataView):
                 next_value = path_from_row_pks(rows[-2], pks, use_rowid)
             # If there's a sort or sort_desc, add that value as a prefix
             if (sort or sort_desc) and not is_view:
-                prefix = rows[-2][sort or sort_desc]
+                try:
+                    prefix = rows[-2][sort or sort_desc]
+                except IndexError:
+                    # sort/sort_desc column missing from SELECT - look up value by PK instead
+                    prefix_where_clause = " and ".join(
+                        "[{}] = :pk{}".format(pk, i) for i, pk in enumerate(pks)
+                    )
+                    prefix_lookup_sql = "select [{}] from [{}] where {}".format(
+                        sort or sort_desc, table_name, prefix_where_clause
+                    )
+                    prefix = (
+                        await db.execute(
+                            prefix_lookup_sql,
+                            {
+                                **{
+                                    "pk{}".format(i): rows[-2][pk]
+                                    for i, pk in enumerate(pks)
+                                }
+                            },
+                        )
+                    ).single_value()
                 if isinstance(prefix, dict) and "value" in prefix:
                     prefix = prefix["value"]
                 if prefix is None:
diff --git a/tests/test_table_api.py b/tests/test_table_api.py
index 9db383c3..e56a72b5 100644
--- a/tests/test_table_api.py
+++ b/tests/test_table_api.py
@@ -288,6 +288,8 @@ def test_paginate_compound_keys_with_extra_filters(app_client):
         ),
         # text column contains '$null' - ensure it doesn't confuse pagination:
         ("_sort=text", lambda row: row["text"], "sorted by text"),
+        # Still works if sort column removed using _col=
+        ("_sort=text&_col=content", lambda row: row["text"], "sorted by text"),
     ],
 )
 def test_sortable(app_client, query_string, sort_key, human_description_en):