2 Patriots Injured in Fight : NFL: Fryar comes to rescue of Dykes outside a nightclub. Later, Fryar is charged with felony possession of a handgun.

A scuffle outside a nightclub in the early hours here Wednesday left Hart Lee Dykes, New England Patriot wide receiver, hospitalized with an eye injury and teammate Irving Fryar facing a weapons charge.

It was unclear what started the fracas, but Fryar filed a police report that said he was hit over the head from behind while trying to help Dykes.

Fryar’s attorney, Peter DiBiase, said the wide receiver was walking to his car outside Club Shalimar around 1:20 a.m., when he saw Dykes arguing with some people.

Fryar looked again and “at that point (Dykes) was lying in the street and there were four or five people assaulting him,” DiBiase said.

Fryar, also a wide receiver, went to help Dykes and was hit on the head from behind. According to the police report, witnesses said Fryar ran to his car, grabbed a handgun, put it in his boot and returned to the scene. The report said that Fryar pointed the gun at people, who “scattered and fled in all directions.”

Fryar, who required stitches to close a gash on his head, was charged with carrying a gun without a permit, a felony. That charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A hearing was set for Dec. 12.

Dykes was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he was in satisfactory condition with an injury to his left eye. He could be released today.

This is not the first time Fryar has had off-the-field problems since the Patriots made him their No. 1 pick out of Nebraska in the 1984 draft. He missed the AFC title game in 1985 with a knife wound to his hand after an argument with his wife. Dykes was a first-round pick from Oklahoma State in 1989, where he was the subject of an NCAA investigation of recruiting violations.