Andersson missed the first two group games with a groin injury but medical staff had been hoping he would recover in time for Wednesday's match. Sweden need only to draw to be sure of advancing to the second round.

"He had been improving until today, but we gave him a test and he couldn't make it," team doctor Anders Valentin said.

"We can't count on him for the next game. It doesn't look very good."

Sweden (four points) lead group F on goals scored from England, but Argentina can jump ahead of them and qualify for the knockout stage with a victory in Wednesday's final group game.

There was more encouraging news on Patrik's brother, Daniel, who missed Sweden's 2-1 win over Nigeria with a thigh injury.

"He's been improving and we will test him again tomorrow," Valentin said. "Today he did some really hard running and he didn't feel anything."

Fredrik Ljungberg, Sweden's in-form attacking midfielder, is likely to play against Argentina although he is still in pain from a lingering hip injury.