Loser's lesion oddly covered in distinctive sort of stitches (4-3)
I believe the answer is:
also-ran
'loser's' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
I cannot understand how the remainder of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for also-ran that I've seen before include "Not placed among the leaders" , "Unplaced racehorse" , "Of racing horse, not placed in first three" , "Not among the first three in race" , "Not placed among winners, as in racing" .)