How can I fix my easy chair?

I too have a collapsed arm on an overstuffed leather easy chair, its a great piece and very comfortable. I took the black dust cover off the bottom and can see in the arm cavity where one of the two 1"x1.5"x23.5" wooden supports has broken away from the long staple coming thru the particle board. I suspect someone sat on it over the holiday but forgot to tell me about it. Help...!!! How can I fix this without dismantling the side of the chair? I can see how the arm component is put together but I don't want to have to pull all the staples out of the leather for obvious reasons. There is plenty of room in the arm cavity, just no way to attach anything.., screws, staples, nails, etc, from the outside of the chair. Thanks.