Crossword Genius

A king with supporters stages a recovery (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

rallies

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'a recovery' is the definition.
(I know this)

'a king with supporters' is the wordplay.
'a king' becomes 'R' (abbreviation of Latin rex).
'with' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'supporters' becomes 'allies' (I've seen this before).
'r'+'allies'='RALLIES'

'stages' is the link.
I am not very happy about this link. It may belong to another bit of the clue.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for rallies that I've seen before include "Car races on public roads" , "Gets better" , "Recovers in health" , "series of strokes" , "Recovers strength for mass gatherings" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.
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