Adriano shoots woman in hand

The player, 29 and now plying his trade with national champions Corinthians, left a party in the Barra da Tijuca district to the west of Rio de Janeiro with three young women and his bodyguard.

He was reportedly fooling around with the gun when he accidentally fired a shot that hit one of the women, aged 20, police lieutenant Tomas da Silva told CBN radio.

Da Silva added that Adriano did not turn himself in to police, and that the woman was expected to have surgery on the injured hand on Saturday.

A four-time title winner during a spell in Italy with Inter Milan, Adriano's career has gone off the rails in recent times because of problems with his weight, alcohol and depression.

In 2010, police in Rio de Janeiro decided against pressing charges against the player for supposed dealings with drug traffickers, blaming a "lack of evidence."