ESSENDON great Matthew Lloyd expects Dr Bruce Reid to leave the club in the next few days to concentrate on defending his reputation.
Reid, the long-time club doctor at Essendon, is facing AFL charges stemming from the Bombers' supplements scandal.
Lloyd believes Saturday night's narrow win over Carlton was Reid's last game at the club.
It was an emotion-charged night for the Bombers, who could be expelled from the finals at Monday's AFL Commission meeting.
Reid looked particularly emotional after Essendon upset arch-rivals Carlton by six points.
"That's probably the view of a man that maybe sees that was his last game at Essendon in 28-30 years," Lloyd said on Channel Nine's The Footy Show.
Lloyd added he had spoken to Reid in the previous 24 hours.
"I view that because of where this is all heading, for him to fight for his name and his career, he needs to separate himself from the football club," Lloyd said.
"That's probably more realistic, that he will step down.
"It wouldn't surprise me if that's his last game.
"Doc Reid wants to do what is best for the footy club and he has to fight for his name.
"What I reckon (is) he will walk away from what he loves to fight for his name."
Close friend Dr Peter Larkins echoed Lloyd's thought on Saturday night.
Apart from laying charges against Essendon, the AFL also individually charged Reid as well as coach James Hird, club football manager Danny Corcoran and senior assistant coach Mark Thompson.
The charges relate to conduct unbecoming and bringing the game into disrepute.
The matter is doubly-crucial for Reid because of his reputation as a medical practitioner.
A letter from Reid to Hird and then-football manager Paul Hamilton early last year, where the doctor expresses concerns about the club's supplements program, is one of the key features of the detail behind the AFL charges.
