UO2 transforms into a superionic conductor at temperatures in excess of 2000 K with oxygen ions becoming mobile and exhibiting collective diffusive dynamics. While the response of UO2 to irradiation is of current interest, the possible impact of superionic characteristics on defect dynamics and recovery following radiation has not been explored yet. In the current work, we use atomistic simulations to elucidate the short-time dynamical response of stoichiometric UO2 subjected to low energy radiation knocks. We observe that the oxygen ions exhibit a collective behavior that is characterized by frequent hopping across their native lattice sites and forming quasi-one-dimensional string-like structures, which are typical of the superionic state. Approximately, a quarter of the displaced oxygen ions dynamically recover through concerted string-like displacements. Our simulations thus suggest a plausible correlation between defect recovery of irradiated UO2 and the characteristic superionic hopping mechanism among the oxygen ions.