Spent half this year looking for work, the other half dealing with an injury. How should i approach my job search?

In 2018, I spent the first 6 months looking for work. I had last worked (Data Analyst) for 5 months up until the end of last year (temp position) and haven't been employed since. Because I'm living with my parents, not having a job isn't too much of a burden, and to make some cash, Ive driven for Uber. In July, I suffered an injury to my spine (3 disc herniations) that ended up requiring surgery and recovery, and so I stopped looking for work altogether to heal appropriately. Ended up having surgery in early September and was told by my surgeon to take it easy physically for 2 months. Although where Im looking to work and where I have worked before will pretty much be a desk job, its very important that i dont sit too long as it is counter-intuitive to my recovery. Now that my recovery period is close to ending, I know i have to start looking for employment.

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How should i approach the way i look for work now that i am close to being physically able and ready? Even though the last 4 months or so i was physically unable to work, i feel the fact that i failed to land a position for 6 months prior to that raises red flags to employers.

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I do want to mention that during my 4 months, especially before my surgery when i was bedbound most of the day, i decided to learn programming, starting off with Javascript. As i continue to keep up my training, I do want to extend my knowledge to other languages.

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I would love some insight from anybody that came back to work after a long hiatus due to health problems or any other time-consuming obligations. Should I include something in my cover letter regarding my injury, etc.? How did you land a position and generally, how do employers respond to these dilemmas?

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