diff --git a/nose2/_toml.py b/nose2/_toml.py
index 6577b223..ff81d026 100644
--- a/nose2/_toml.py
+++ b/nose2/_toml.py
@@ -1,4 +1,9 @@
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import types
+
 TOML_ENABLED: bool = False
+toml: types.ModuleType | None = None
 
 try:
     import tomllib as toml
@@ -15,7 +20,7 @@
 
 
 def load_toml(file: str) -> dict:
-    if not TOML_ENABLED:
+    if toml is None:
         raise RuntimeError("toml library not found. Please install 'tomli'.")
     with open(file, "rb") as fp:
         return toml.load(fp)