READING FC have received a seven-figure cash boost thanks to Euro 2016.

They have been handed £1,178,229 by UEFA due the involvement of a number of players in last summer's tournament in France.

Royals received a share of the €150m pot set aside by European football's governing body for 641 clubs in total.

The 'solidarity payments' are compensation paid to clubs for releasing their players to compete in the qualifying rounds and final group stages of Euro 2016.

They cover the period from the start of qualifying in September 2014 up to and including the tournament itself.

Chris Gunter and Hal Robson-Kanu helped Wales reach the semi-finals where they went out to eventual winners, Portugal.

Robson-Kanu left Royals last summer to join West Bromwich Albion, but Reading were still compensated for his involvement in the competition.

Paul McShane and Stephen Quinn were in the Republic of Ireland squad which reached the finals in France, while Oliver Norwood – now with Reading's promotion-rivals, Brighton – was part of the Northern Ireland squad.

Royals were also compensated for Jake Taylor (Wales), Alex Pearce (RoI) and Matej Vydra (Czech Republic). All three have now left the Madejski Stadium but were part of their country's qualifying campaigns, though none actually played in the tournament itself.

The payment from UEFA will be most welcome for the Royals, who reported losses of £15m for 2015/16 as the club's debt rose to £73m.

Reading also received a £10.4m loan last week from a Chinese consortium attempting to take over the club.

The money helped boss Jaap Stam sign five players in January, with Tiago Ilori joining from Liverpool for a club record £3m and Adrian Popa from Steaua Bucharest for £500,000, both penning three-and-a-half year deals.

Stam also made three loan signings on transfer deadline day on Tuesday after landing Bournemouth's Lewis Grabban, West Ham's Reece Oxford and Crystal Palace's Jordon Mutch until the end of the season.

Ilori is currently nursing an ankle ligament in jury and could be out for six weeks, but the other four arrivals are all in contention for tomorrow's trip to Ipswich Town (3pm ko).

However, Stam is unlikely to make too many changes as third-placed Royals go in search of a fourth successive Championship victory to keep the pressure on the top two, Newcastle and leaders Brighton.