Some players will take a long time dressing (7)
I believe the answer is:
bandage
'dressing' is the definition.
(bandage is a kind of dressing)
'some players will take a long time' is the wordplay.
'some players' becomes 'band' (I've seen this before).
'will take' says to put letters next to each other.
'a long time' becomes 'age' ('age' can be a synonym of 'long time').
'band'+'age'='BANDAGE'
(Other definitions for bandage that I've seen before include "Wrapping for wound" , "Wrap for a wound" , "Dress" , "Bind (a wound)" , "Material for wound or injury" .)