Crossword Genius

River turning south into English Channel eventually (2,3,6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

in due course

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'eventually' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)

'river turning south into english channel' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'river' could be 'r' (abbreviation for river) and 'r' is located in the answer.
'south' could be 'due' (synonyms) and 'due' is found in the answer.
'into' could be 'in' and 'in' is found in the answer.
'english' could be 'e' (abbreviation as in OED) and 'e' is present in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for in due course that I've seen before include "Eventually" , "at the proper time" , "At the appropriate time" , "in the natural order" , "When the time comes" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times and The Sunday Times.
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