Three Charlton Athletic players have told their manager they will not play when the Sky Bet Championship resumes later this month, including top scorer Lyle Taylor.

Taylor, 30, is out of contract at the end of June, and manager Lee Bowyer said the striker did not want to risk getting an injury which could scupper a "life-changing move."

Relegation-threatened Charlton are among the hardest hit in the Championship and manager Bowyer has revealed that Taylor, Chris Solly and David Davis, on loan from Birmingham, do not intend to resume play.

The EFL announced that second-tier games are set to resume on June 20, subject to safety requirements, causing outrage amongst some of the teams.

The league has been mid-March due to Covid-19, but the delayed season has caused problems for many clubs, with a number of contracts expiring at the end of June.

Charlton will be hit harder than any. Bowyer told TalkSport that the club has 15 players who are going to be out of contract, six loans and nine contracted players out.

The club sits in a precarious position, two points adrift with nine games to play, all amidst a chaotic dispute over the club's ownership.

Manager Lee Bowyer said he asked the players who was willing to play, and those three said they weren't willing to play.

Taylor and Solly both said they were worried about injuries with their contracts up, whilst Davis said that he was worried about travelling down to London because of the virus.

"Everyone has got their own reasons," Bowyer said. "I do understand them to a certain point.

"Chris Solly has been an absolute pleasure to work with in my two years in charge.

"He’s been a credit to the club, he’s come through the club, he’s given 11 years, I think, to Charlton and that shouldn’t be forgotten.

Bowyer believes players should "finish what you started" and revealed Taylor said he wants to play, but told his manager that he would not be the same player worrying about being injured.

"He is going to get a life-changing move," the Charlton boss told talkSPORT.

"I was saying this a few months ago when this first happened, when we were talking about the contract problem.

"If it wasn’t for Lyle’s goals last season we wouldn’t be in the Championship. I know it is difficult for everyone, and no-one more than me, it is difficult to grasp what’s going on but he’s thinking of his career, so let’s not forget all the help he has given us.

"We’ll all be disappointed because they aren’t going to play now but they’ve also had some good moments too.”