Soldier brought up in care, poor thing (7)
I believe the answer is:
trooper
'soldier' is the definition.
(I know this)
'brought up in care poor thing' is the wordplay.
'brought up' says the letters should be written backwards (in a down clue, letters go up).
'in' says the answer is hidden in the clue.
'repoort' can be found hidden inside 'care poor thing'.
'repoort' backwards is 'TROOPER'.
(Other definitions for trooper that I've seen before include "Cavalryman" , "He swears" , "Soldier, proverbial swearer" , "Private soldier" , "Proverbially swearing soldier" .)