Period of recuperation I have is disturbed (7)
I believe the answer is:
restive
'disturbed' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are adjectives. Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'period of recuperation i have' is the wordplay.
'period of recuperation' becomes 'rest' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'i have' becomes 'I've' (contraction of 'I have').
'rest'+'ive'='RESTIVE'
'is' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for restive that I've seen before include "Resisting control, nervous or impatient" , "Impatient - jumpy" , "Unable to keep still" , "Impatient of authority" , "Unsettled" .)