However, the nightmare never came true.
The forward star stands in the mixed zone, where the athletes meet the press, with a smile on her face the day before Thursday's Olympic opener against Germany.
She herself believes that it is her attitude that has taken her from her sickbed in Montreal - where she plays for the city's PWHL team - to Milan.
Because when she was feeling the worst, the Olympics were far away and she feared she wouldn't recover in time.
"Yes, of course. But if I had let that fear take over, I don't know if I would be standing here. I have been very focused on being there," says the physical and energetic forward.
“I got a drip”
Ljungblom was struck down with glandular fever immediately after the Damkronorna November tournament in Ängelholm.
"I felt like crap for two months and had a constant fever for four weeks. When it started to get better, I got a throat infection and hey, hey. I've had every symptom you can have, I think," she says.
"I could barely leave the bed, I got dehydrated and had to take a drip. But I've received a lot of help from the club."
She made a comeback in the PWHL, the women's equivalent of the NHL, in January and has played six games ahead of the Olympics with limited playing time.
"It has felt good, I feel like I have the stamina and want to play more there. But it is also a question of selection. It will be intense here, but you just have to take care of everything and it will go well," she says.
Early group final
Tre Kronor's women play four group-stage matches in six days before the playoffs. They need to win the group to get an advantageous quarter-final, and the opening match against Germany on Thursday - the day before the Olympic flame is lit - is seen as an early group final.
"It's been the group final against them for many years now. I've never been as eager to go out and play as I am now," says the goal-scoring forward.
The women's Olympic group division is based on the world rankings. The top five nations play in Group A, where they all advance to the quarter-finals, and the other five teams play in Group B, where the top three teams advance.
Group A: USA, Canada, Finland, Czech Republic, Switzerland.
Group B: Sweden, Japan, Germany, France, Italy.
Sweden needs to win the group to avoid a likely quarter-final against the USA or Canada. The group winner in Group B will face third place in Group A.
Sweden's group stage matches:
5/2: Sweden–Germany (12:10).
7/2: Sweden–Italy (2:40 p.m.).
8/2: France–Sweden (4:40 p.m.).
10/2: Japan–Sweden (12:10).
