David Raya understands why some Championship players won’t be keen to play on – but has no such concerns himself as he hopes to help Brentford book a spot in the Premier League.

Raya left Rovers last summer for a new challenge with the Bees who are fourth in the Championship ahead of the season resuming on June 20, and safe in the knowledge that promotion, and the play-offs, will be observed.

The re-start date of June 20, less than a month after the players first returned to non-contact training, has been criticised by some clubs, citing a lack of preparation.

Twice-weekly testing has seen 24 individuals test positive, and led to some players refusing to finish the season which has bene halted since March because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The season will go beyond June 30, when contracts expire, and players have already signalled their intention not to return. Out-of-contract Charlton stars Lyle Taylor and Chris Solly, along with Birmingham loanee David Davis, have all refused to return for the final nine games for fear of injury ruining any summer moves.

Raya understands their position and expects there will be more players with deals expiring this month who feel the same.

"There will be more players coming out, there's the risk of their careers and future earnings. They have bills to pay and that's something people need to bear in mind,” the Spaniard said.

"They have families to look after, they have to look after their careers and it's understandable as well.

"It's something more personal because it's not about getting infected, it's about getting injured.

"With coronavirus, if you don't feel safe to do something you're not going to do it. People have lost loved ones so it's understandable if people don't want to go to training or work.

"Health is more important than football or work, everyone has the right not to do something if they don't feel safe."

For Raya himself, there have been no such worries, despite the unpleasantness of the twice-weekly tests.

Raya felt the guidance provided to players through Government advice, and the PFA, reassured him that returning was safe to do, and he feels getting back to contact training this week has been a welcome step forward.

"Now we're back it's a relief everything is slowly going back to normal,” said Raya, who played 108 times for Rovers having graduated through the Academy.

"When it happened they said it was going to be for three weeks and it's been a bit of a shock because it's something new for everybody. But the break was needed because the health of everyone is more important.

"The testing isn't pleasant but it's something you have to get done. We have it done twice a week and we need it for the safety of everyone, it's the right thing to do if we want to carry on with training.

"We knew the Government and PFA would do the best for the safety of the players. I wasn't scared or nervous. We knew it would be a safe place to be and train."

The Bees’ automatic promotion hopes could well be determined by results in their first two games after the re-start as they face the two teams directly above them in the table, Fulham and West Brom, in their first two games back.

Brentford will leave their Griffin Park home once the season is finish, and Raya hopes to do that by celebrating promotion to the Premier League.

"It's going to be nine finals back-to-back to achieve what we want to achieve," Raya added, with the Bees 10 points behind the second-placed Baggies and four adrift of Fulham.

"I always thought we would play again and now we've got a date. It's not the best having three weeks of training before nine important games but it's the same for every single team.

"It depends how you've come back from training on your own."