Crossword Genius

Not much time to tackle American player (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

muso

'player' is the definition.
(informal term for a musician)

'not much time to tackle american' is the wordplay.
'not much time' becomes 'mo' (mo can mean a short amount of time).
'to tackle' is an insertion indicator (tackle can mean to take hold of).
'american' becomes 'us' (abbreviation for United States).
'mo' enclosing 'us' is 'MUSO'.

(Another definition for muso that I've seen is " Keen auditor".)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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