The promising tall, 22, suffered serious damage to the anterior-cruciate and medial-collateral ligaments in his left knee after an accident at Bunton Park on Monday night.

Lloyd will meet leading surgeon Julian Feller in Melbourne today to assess the damage.

Feller was the man behind Collingwood livewire Andrew Krakouer’s miraculous comeback from a similar injury in the AFL last year.

“It’s pretty devastating,” Lloyd said.

“To not even get a couple of games under the belt makes it worse.

“I had a scan and I’ve shredded my ACL and have a slightly torn MCL, as well as cartilage damage.

“It’s tough but all I can do now is get it fixed and get back as soon as I can.”

Lloyd suffered the injury while changing direction during a simple training drill.

He heard his knee click and fell to the ground immediately.

To make matters worse, the Hoppers were on the track for no more than 30 minutes after a session with sports psychologist Dr Phil Jauncey.

Lloyd, who had impressed new coach Jason Akermanis over the summer, said he was determined to get back as soon as he could.

He admits it’s unlikely but Lloyd didn’t rule out returning this season.

“That’s the aim but I’m not really sure at the moment. I’ll see how I go,” he said.

Lloyd said his meeting with Feller today would determine whether he went for traditional surgery or considered LARS treatment to speed up his return.

However, Feller publicly criticised LARS treatment a year ago and advised Krakouer against it so that option seems unlikely.

Krakouer spent six months on the sidelines after tearing his ACL in a practice match for Collingwood in February last year but made it back for the finals after a traditional knee reconstruction.