Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson's son is currently in critical condition, a victim of alleged child abuse.

Peterson held a news conference on Friday to address the media about missing practice Thursday morning.

"I really appreciate all the support that I've been receiving from fans, the Vikings organization," Peterson said. "This is a private matter and I would ask you all to please just respect my privacy and not ask at all about the situation at hand."

According to USA Today, authorities arrested Joseph Robert Patterson, 27, who has been charged with aggravated assault and aggravated assault on an infant.  His bond was set at $750,000.

"As officers and first responders got there, they found child was unresponsive and he was taken to the hospital," Sioux Falls police spokesman Sam Clemens told USA TODAY. "So they ended up calling police about that or letting them know. We had detectives talk to quite a few people to try to figure out what happened. What they ended up finding was that when the injuries happened there was one person with that child, and that person was Joseph Patterson."

"The injuries they found were head injuries," Clemens said. "It was obvious to medical staff that abuse had taken place and that those injuries weren't accidental.

TMZ reports Peterson's son is in "critical condition in a South Dakota hospital."  The child was allegedly attacked by the man dating his mother:

"Multiple sources tell TMZ ... Peterson's son is currently on life support and hasn't had brain activity since 5:30 PM last night.  We're told the family is monitoring the situation closely, and if there is no improvement in 24 hours, the mother wants to remove life support and donate the boy's organs to people in need."

However, Peterson's father, Nelson, confirmed to the Pioneer Press that the child injured was not Adrian Peterson Jr., but is the same age as the boy.

Peterson confirmed he will be playing in Sunday's game against the Panthers.