Hard drive Failure - rebuild PP sequence from exported video advice

Hi all, I had the unfortunate event of my first hard drive failure, it is less than a year old so it came as a surprise. I backed up everything except a premiere project file I am working on currently. I usually put autosaves on another hard drive but forgot to do it for the project I am working on currently so I lost all project files. I have sent the hard drive off to see if anything is recoverable. But the project is due before I will likely know if the drive is recoverable.

So I am seeking advice on the best way to rebuild a sequence when all I have is the original footage/audio and a low-quality (1280/720 h.264) exported version video that is very close to being finished but needs more work before delivery. It has an audio watermark in the music of the exported version so I can't cheat and work on the exported version (not that I would with such a low-quality export). The best answer I can come up with at the moment is the hard way (which may be my only option):

Use scene edit detection to cut up the exported video as a guide to find the cut points in the original footage and rebuild the sequence.

**Just a note - the edit only has video footage, music, and sound effects. 

I assume there is no way easier way of rebuilding an edit?

I hope no one on this forum has to experience this issue...

Thanks in advance!

Michael