Possibly early cover (5)

I believe the answer is:

layer

'cover' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'possibly early' is the wordplay.
'possibly' indicates anagramming the letters.
'early' is an anagram of 'LAYER'.

(Other definitions for layer that I've seen before include "Single thickness, tier" , "Stratum or thickness" , "One producing eggs" , "Thickness of material or earth - relay it" , "Single thickness and hen" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

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