diff --git a/scripts/board.py b/scripts/board.py
index a0f613a..b325efa 100644
--- a/scripts/board.py
+++ b/scripts/board.py
@@ -1083,11 +1083,15 @@ def _fresh_span(fresh: dict, now_text: str, stale_text: str,
                  f"submitting drops the {len(interest_items)} paper(s) left in "
                  f"the {idate} batch and reveals the next day'>"
                  f"\U0001f9f9 clear</a>" if clear_url else "")
+        # `behind` rides on BOTH texts. A late digest is exactly when the
+        # backlog depth matters most, and dropping it from the stale variant
+        # hid it twice over: on a render that is already stale, and on a fresh
+        # render the moment _EXTRA_JS swaps in `data-stale-text`.
         imeta = _fresh_span(
             ifresh,
             f"{len(interest_items)} paper"
             f"{'s' if len(interest_items) != 1 else ''}{behind}",
-            f"{len(interest_items)} paper(s) · {istale_tmpl}")
+            f"{len(interest_items)} paper(s){behind} · {istale_tmpl}")
         # The batch's date IS its name — this is a backlog of days, and which
         # day you are looking at is the first thing to know.
         interests_block = (
diff --git a/tests/test_board.py b/tests/test_board.py
index b8a4370..8059406 100644
--- a/tests/test_board.py
+++ b/tests/test_board.py
@@ -24,6 +24,15 @@
 
 BODY_MARKER = "the-secret-claim-text-that-must-never-leak"
 
+# The freshness/staleness banners are computed against `snapshot["generated"]`,
+# so a fixture with fixed dates and a live clock ages out of its own window and
+# the suite goes red on a calendar day rather than on a code change (it did, on
+# 2026-08-28: the two-day-old stamp below turned stale and the assertions that
+# expected a quiet day started reading the "filing may be broken" banner). Pin
+# the clock to the day the tree below is written for; `_inbox` already does the
+# same with its own calibrated date.
+FIXTURE_NOW = "2026-08-26T09:00:00+00:00"
+
 
 def _tree(tmp_path: Path) -> Path:
     w = tmp_path / "wiki" / "demo"
@@ -67,6 +76,7 @@ def _snap_with_remote(tmp_path):
     """A synthetic snapshot with repo identity, as a live checkout has."""
     snap = board.collect(_tree(tmp_path))
     snap["owner"], snap["repo"] = "PyAutoLabs", "PyAutoMemory"
+    snap["generated"] = FIXTURE_NOW
     return snap
 
 
@@ -311,7 +321,7 @@ def _inbox(tmp_path, stamp=None, papers=()):
         "# arXiv interests\n\nintro prose\n\n---\n")
     snap = board.collect(root)
     snap["owner"], snap["repo"] = "PyAutoLabs", "PyAutoMemory"
-    snap["generated"] = "2026-08-25T09:00:00+00:00"
+    snap["generated"] = "2026-08-25T09:00:00+00:00"  # calibrated to this helper's dates
     return snap
 
 
@@ -468,6 +478,7 @@ def _interests(tmp_path, lines, stamp=None):
         "# arXiv inbox\n\nintro prose\n\n---\n")
     snap = board.collect(root)
     snap["owner"], snap["repo"] = "PyAutoLabs", "PyAutoMemory"
+    snap["generated"] = FIXTURE_NOW
     return snap
 
 
@@ -568,6 +579,17 @@ def test_the_backlog_depth_is_on_the_page(tmp_path):
     assert "1 more day behind it" in board._render_md(snap)
 
 
+def test_the_backlog_depth_survives_the_stale_banner(tmp_path):
+    """A late digest is when the depth matters most. The stale text replaces
+    the summary wholesale — server-side here, and client-side via
+    `data-stale-text` — so it has to carry the depth too."""
+    snap = _snap_with_remote(tmp_path)
+    snap["interests_last_digest"] = "2026-08-14"     # stale against FIXTURE_NOW
+    html = board._render_html(snap)
+    assert "the nightly filing may be broken" in html
+    assert html.count("1 more day behind it") == 2   # rendered + data-stale-text
+
+
 def test_an_empty_interests_list_says_which_kind_of_empty(tmp_path):
     quiet = _interests(tmp_path, [], stamp="2026-08-26")
     assert "the last digest ran 2026-08-26" in board._render_md(quiet)