Startled comment about doctor in group (5)

I believe the answer is:

combo

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'group' is the definition.
(a combo can mean a musical group)

'startled comment about doctor' is the wordplay.
'startled comment' becomes 'coo' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'about' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'doctor' becomes 'MB' (Bachelor of Medicine).
'coo' enclosing 'mb' is 'COMBO'.

'in' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for combo that I've seen before include "Small jazz group" , "Small pop group" , "Small jazz or dance band" , "Music group" , "group of players" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.