Ljungberg in training on Saturday.

By Damian Spellman, PA Sport

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Freddie Ljungberg gave Sweden a boost on the eve of their World Cup showdown against England.

The Arsenal star took part in the Swede's final practice session before Sunday's encounter in the 67,000-seater Saitama Stadium after earlier undergoing a strenuous fitness test.

It was the first time Ljungberg had trained in four days after damaging his right groin after five minutes of a training session at the squad's base in Myazaki but there still appeared to be a question mark over his full fitness.

Earlier Swedish coach Lars Lagerback had intimated that if Ljungberg missed training he was unlikely to play but it was a day when the Swedes refused to rule anything in or out as the World Cup tension mounted.

With England cancelling their own pre-match press conference the Swedes were perhaps entitled to be cagey with a player who means as much to them as Beckham does to Sven-Goran Eriksson.

It is clear, however, that Ljungberg has been struggling with the injury which first surfaced 10 days ago, despite a scan earlier in the week which discovered no serious damage.

Mysteriously, however, the pain has persisted and as he warmed up on Saturday, mostly by himself, it was clear that he was still concerned about the injury.

He juggled with a ball for a full 10 minutes before joining the rest of the squad in a light jogging session. Then he stepped aside for a series of careful stretching exercises on the offending groin.

On Saturday morning the injury had seemed even more touch-and-go as Sweden's medical staff probed the mysterious pain Ljungberg had been experiencing in a comprehensive series of running and stretching tests.

There was clearly anxiety in the Swedish camp over Ljungberg, who two days ago admitted he thought his World Cup could be over and his mood has been hopeful but not overly optimistic ever since.

He was determined to do everything, however, to test himself at the highest level against Arsenal team-mates Sol Campbell, Ashley Cole and David Seaman and Swedish coach Lagerback was desperate to give him every chance to recover.

"He is on his way to have some tests and we can see how he feels then,"

Lagerback had said. "After that we will take a decision with the medical team."

Do you think he will play, Lagerback was asked. "You can see if he is training or not with the team," said Lagerback.

The coach admitted, however, that Ljungberg's presence was crucial to Sweden's hopes.

The midfielder enjoyed a fabulous end of season with the Gunners, scoring seven goals in the club's last eight games, including the second in Arsenal's FA Cup triumph over Chelsea.

"If he is in normal form and he plays like he did at the end of the season with Arsenal he would be important for any team," said Lagerback. "It is not good having injuries in your squad but you can't complain, that's football. You have to deal with it.

"We always try to play our own game. It doesn't matter which players are on the pitch.

"We have our organisation that we always try to follow when we defend and when we attack.

"But you always have to consider the players on the pitch and their individual skills and how to use them in the best way. You always have to do small adjustments."

Coventry's Swedish goalkeeper Magnus Hedman, however, had worries of his own, much of which concerned the World Cup balls which dip and swerve more than normal in flight.

"If someone has a good shot the ball moves a lot in the air," said Hedman.

"You might think the ball is over the bar and then it will dip at the last second.

"Free-kicks will be a problem if David Beckham plays.

"If you save a good free-kick from Beckham it means you've done a really good job."