Roma ace El Shaarawy under investigation for 'beating up' thief stealing his car

Roma winger Stephan El Shaarawy is being investigated by police after brawling with a thief who was attempting to steal his car, according to reports in Italy.

Newspaper Corriere della Sera claims El Shaarawy, 28, is alleged to have inflicted serious injuries on Jose Carlos Aliaga Sagardia, who was trying to make away with his Lamborghini.

The report adds Sagardia, a 30-year-old Chilean, has received a sentence of one year and six months on charges of attempted theft.

The incident is believed to have occurred as El Shaarawy confronted Sagardia while visiting his former Italy teammate Alessio Cerci on 12 February.

El Shaarawy allegedly spotted the thief breaking his car's window while playing video games with Cerci, before rushing out of the door to chase him.

Corriere della Sera says the former AC Milan star pinned Sagardia to the ground, with the defendant's lawyer, Veronica Paturzo, later claiming he was beaten by the player.

But two witnesses are understood to have seen Sagardia punching himself in the face after they were alerted to the tussle by El Shaarawy's shouts.

Sagardia was diagnosed with a blunt and excoriative polytrauma as well as other abrasions while in police custody, according to the Milan-based outlet.

The report adds he was treated in Rome's Sant'Eugenio Hospital and later filed a complaint for injuries against El Shaarawy, who has been indicted by prosecutor Carlo Villani.

El Shaarawy's lawyer said he expects to face interrogators this month in a statement shared by Football Italia.

"The accused is a person who was stealing his car, he can say anything, but everything must be ascertained," said El Shaarawy.

"Stephan will tell what happened when the interrogation is scheduled, which will certainly take place by the end of July."

El Shaarawy returned to Roma in January this year on a free transfer after a brief spell in the Chinese Super League with Shanghai Shenhua.

The versatile winger - who has earned 29 caps for Italy but is not in their Euro 2020 squad - previously played for the Stadio Olimpico club between 2016 and 2019 after initially joining on loan from Milan.

El Shaarawy came through the ranks at Genoa and has also spent spent time on loan with Padova and Monaco.

Since returning to Roma, he has made 14 appearances, scoring twice and registering two assists for the club.

He has two years remaining on his deal in the Italian capital and will hope to establish himself as a regular in the team under Jose Mourinho, who was appointed Roma manager in May.