Crossword Genius

Suffering a bad spell Dr Yates wandered aimlessly (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

strayed

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'wandered aimlessly' is the definition.
'strayed' can be an answer for 'wandered' ('stray' can be a synonym of 'wander'). I am not sure about the 'aimlessly' bit.

'suffering a bad spell dr yates' is the wordplay.
'dr yates' anagrams to 'STRAYED'.
Though, I am not sure how this is indicated.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for strayed that I've seen before include "Wandered; digressed" , "Went wrong" , "Went off course" , "Wandered (from path)" , "Went off the track" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.
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