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m{
  # any of the 12 months:
...
    \s?         # an optional space between comma and year
    [12]\d{3}   # a four digit year
}xms

m{
  # any of the 12 months:
...
    (?:<.+?>|\s)*  # zero or more tag like things or spaces
    [12]\d{3}      # a four digit year
}xms

if ( $html =~ m{ ( blah blah as above blah blah ) }xms ) {
    my $date = $1;
    # remove the tags, if there are any
    $date =~ s/<.+?>//g;
}