Crossword Genius

He stays well away from work (10)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

malingerer

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'he stays well away from work' is the definition.
The answer is a person as well as being a singular noun. This is suggested by the definition.

'he stays well away' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'he' could be 'inger' and 'inger' is found in the answer.
'away' could be 'a' (abbreviation as used in sports fixtures) and 'a' is found within the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for malingerer that I've seen before include "I avoided work?" , "Slacker" , "One feigning illness to avoid work" , "He's not bad, really" , "Shirker" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail and The Irish News.
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