Tender saying heard (4)
I believe the answer is:
sore
'tender' is the definition.
(I know that tender can be written as sore)
'saying heard' is the wordplay.
'saying' becomes 'saw' (saw is a kind of saying).
'heard' shows a homophone (sound like).
'saw' is a homophone of 'SORE'.
(Other definitions for sore that I've seen before include "Painful spot" , "Bruised" , "To be very old" , "Painful - resentful" , "Wound; painful" .)