Does damage dealt to a unit by a spell outside of combat persist when entering combat with that unit?

Ruling: Yes, damage dealt to units by spells outside of combat remains on those units when you enter combat with them. Units only heal at the end of combats or at the end of turn.

Sequence:

• Deal damage to enemy unit with spell outside of combat
• Enter combat with that damaged unit
• Only need to deal remaining damage to destroy it
• Excess damage can be assigned to other units in that combat

Nuances:

• Healing after combat affects all units everywhere, not just units that participated in that combat
• Healing damage is not part of cleanup (cleanup is equivalent to checking state-based effects and happens continuously)