Crossword Genius

Player in a dramatic substitution (5-2)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

stand-in

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'substitution' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'player in a dramatic' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'in' is found in the answer.
'a' could be 'an' and 'an' is located in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for stand-in that I've seen is " Substitute".)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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