Record holders almost slaughtered some days before (7)

I believe the answer is:

sleeves

'record holders' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)

'almost slaughtered some days before' is the wordplay.
'almost' means to remove the last letter (almost the whole word is kept).
'slaughtered' becomes 'slew' (I've seen this before).
'some days before' becomes 'eves' (I've seen this in another clue).
'slew' with its last letter taken away is 'sle'.
'sle'+'eves'='SLEEVES'

(Another definition for sleeves that I've seen is " Arm coverings".)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.

Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app