The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 5 letter word SICK LEAVE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
S
I
C
K
L
E
A
V
E
More clues leading to the result SICK LEAVE
- Skive off with Alec and claim this?
- Surely not as address for the Hammers? It’s taken off
- Time off after chewing vile cakes
- An off break?
- Predicament, having no pence in store for time off when ill
- Is one ill at ease with this?
- One is ill-at-ease when not working on this
- Reaper’s greeting when not well off
- Period in which one’s not well off?
- An off-break
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "period of recovery" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case period of recovery = sick leave.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.