Dressing players takes a long time (7)
I believe the answer is:
bandage
'dressing' is the definition.
(bandage is a kind of dressing)
'players takes a long time' is the wordplay.
'players' becomes 'band' (I've seen this before).
'takes' says to put letters next to each other.
'a long time' becomes 'age' ('age' can be a synonym of 'long time').
'band'+'age'='BANDAGE'
(Other definitions for bandage that I've seen before include "medical cover" , "Injury protection" , "Material for wound or injury" , "Dress" , "First-aid item" .)