… recently put back in metal folder (2,4)
I believe the answer is:
of late
'recently' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'back in metal folder' is the wordplay.
'back' says the letters should be written backwards.
'in' says the answer is hidden in the clue.
'etalfo' is hidden within 'metal folder'.
'etalfo' back-to-front is 'OF LATE'.
'put' is the link.
(Other definitions for of late that I've seen before include "Recently, not long agor" , "In the past few days" , "Not long ago, in recent times" , "Alternative to 21 down" , "recently, not long ago" .)