Tricky number three left out of team (5)

'tricky' is the definition.
(like an elf, ie tricky or mischievous)

'number three left out of team' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'number' could be 'v' (V is an example) and 'v' is located in the answer.
'left' could be 'l' (common abbreviation) and 'l' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'een' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).