Crossword Genius

Out of sorts, hit catching back of knee: hit back! (5,3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

below par

'out of sorts' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'hit catching back of knee hit back' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'hit' could be 'par' (parring is a kind of hitting) and 'par' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'below' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

(Other definitions for below par that I've seen before include "Not in full health" , "Not up to usual standard, like golfer" , "Worse than usual" , "Out of sorts" , "Worse than expected" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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