Restore play area no longer in operation (7)

I believe the answer is:

recover

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'restore' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'play area no longer in operation' is the wordplay.
'play area' becomes 'rec' (short for recreation ground).
'no longer in operation' becomes 'over' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'rec'+'over'='RECOVER'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for recover that I've seen before include "Bring back" , "Rally, get better" , "Obtain the return of" , "Find" , "Get better; retrieve" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.

Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app