Headless bear in collapsed state (4)
I believe the answer is:
ruin
'collapsed state' is the definition.
'ruin' can be an answer for 'state' (ruin is a kind of state). I am not sure about the 'collapsed' bit.
'headless bear' is the wordplay.
'headless' means to remove the first letter.
'bear' becomes 'bruin' (term for a bear in children's stories).
'bruin' with its initial letter taken away is 'RUIN'.
'in' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for ruin that I've seen before include "state of collapse" , "fall" , "Building remains" , "Irreparably damage" , "State of devastation and destruction" .)