HOUSTON (Reuters) - Minnesota Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson was detained for resisting arrest early on Saturday after he refused to leave a Houston nightclub at closing time and shoved an off-duty police officer, police said.

The off-duty officer, who was working a security assignment at Bayou Place, asked Peterson, 27, and others in his group several times to leave the downtown club at around 2 a.m., Houston Police Department spokesman Kese Smith said.

Peterson, who has been recuperating from surgery for an injury sustained in December, responded by yelling and pushing the guard, causing him to stumble, Smith said. Peterson was charged with resisting arrest, a misdemeanor, Smith said.

Peterson, who is from Palestine, Texas, was held on $1,000 bail at a Houston jail, according to the police website. It was not clear if he had been released.

(Reporting by Robert Kleeman; Editing by Alex Dobuzinskis and Paul Simao)