Reportedly, front limb (5)
I believe the answer is:
bough
'limb' is the definition.
(I know that bough is a type of limb)
'reportedly front' is the wordplay.
'reportedly' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue.
'front' becomes 'bow' (bow is a kind of front).
'bow' is a homophone of 'BOUGH'.
(Other definitions for bough that I've seen before include "Main branch (of tree)" , "Substantial branch of a tree" .)