Husband left in this country, an abandoned wreck (4)
I believe the answer is:
hulk
'an abandoned wreck' is the definition.
(an old ship)
'husband left in this country' is the wordplay.
'husband' becomes 'h'.
'left' becomes 'l' (common abbreviation).
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'this country' becomes 'UK' (from the perspective of a British newspaper).
'l' going into 'uk' is 'ulk'.
'h'+'ulk'='HULK'
(Other definitions for hulk that I've seen before include "Shipwreck" , "Disused ship; this as prison" , "Big ungainly person" , "Large clumsy person; stripped ship" , "may be incredible" .)