As Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy was left to rue a costly double goal to the Bulldogs in the first quarter - which changed the momentum of the game - he was also resigned to Lloyd facing a spell on the sidelines, starting with next Tuesday's Anzac Day blockbuster against Collingwood at the MCG.
Lloyd suffered the injury late in the third term when he stretched out in a marking contest with Bulldogs' full-back Brian Harris with Harris then landing on top of him.
The Bombers' skipper and three-time Coleman Medallist immediately clutched the back of his leg and was limping noticeably as he left the field - usually a sign of a serious hamstring injury.
Afterwards Sheedy did not say how long Lloyd would be sidelined for, only saying he would be out for 'whatever it takes'.
The Bombers badly missed Lloyd in an exciting final term in which they repeatedly attacked against the unbeaten Bulldogs.
Sheedy admitted Lloyd's absence had been crucial as veteran Bulldogs defender Chris Grant repeatedly held out the Bombers.
"We made Chris Grant look better than what he was because of our kicking (into the forward line)," he said.
"A couple of our younger players bombed the ball up to him and Lloyd not being there didn't help either."
On the positive side for Essendon was the fine return of former skipper James Hird in his first game of the season following a calf injury.
Hird gathered 25 touches and kicked two goals and seemed refreshed after missing the first two games of the season.
"It probably helped him not playing for a week or two, which got him through today, and he has pulled up pretty good," Sheedy said of his ex-captain.
The Bombers led by 27 points in the first term but Sheedy was disappointed his team then conceded a double goal, which allowed the Bulldogs to not only post their first goals of the match but steady after their shaky start.
The first came when Matthew Robbins seized on a dropped mark from Andrew Welsh to snap a goal with Robert Murphy then awarded a free kick in the goalsquare - without the ball going back to the centre - after Dustin Fletcher grabbed him high following Robbins' goal.
"The two goals in one minute hurt us a bit," Sheedy said.
"It was a dropped mark by Welsh and a free kick against Fletcher, I don't know what the free kick was for, but it shouldn't have happened.
"I think it did (change the momentum of the game) and it gave them a bit of confidence to be honest.
"(But) we had our opportunities to win it, we didn't and they won it so good luck to them."
