How long does it take for an ankle to heal after a periosteal injury? The ankle is in a special anatomical position, easy to move around and bear the weight of the body. There are less muscles and soft tissues in this area, and the bones are under the skin, so it takes longer to recover from an injury in this area, i.e. periosteal injury, generally about six weeks to fully recover. Within these six weeks, you must take strict bed rest, less activity, and no cold, because cold can easily cause the injury of periosteum to aggravate, which will lead to painful walking in the future. Therefore, after the ankle periosteal injury, you must strictly rest in bed and do not move around. Continuous local hot compress and physiotherapy can help increase the local blood circulation and accelerate the repair of the damaged tissues.