Burress’ latest self-inflicted wound came after he was initially turned away from the LQ nightclub in midtown because he was packing heat, police sources said. Burress, 31, who was sporting flashy jewelry and carrying loads of cash, told club management he needed the gun to protect himself, sources said.

The mercurial Giant was waved inside the crowded Latin-themed club on Lexington Ave. about midnight. He downed several drinks, making already jittery security guards more nervous about his weapon.

As Burress was being led into a VIP area, with a drink in his hand, the gun slipped down his pants leg. He reached for the weapon, but fumbled it and it went off, sources said. The bullet tore through Burress’ already injured right thigh, police said.

“[The bullet] went in and out. No bones,” Chief Michael Collins, a police spokesman, said.

Pierce, 30, rushed to his bleeding teammate and applied pressure to the wound as Burress screamed in pain amid the hip-hop beats piping through the club, sources said. As he worked to slow the bleeding, Pierce berated Burress for bringing a loaded handgun into a club.

Panicking, Burress told his teammate not to call 911 for an ambulance, sources said.

Pierce helped the bloodied receiver out of the club before taking off with the gun and stashing it somewhere in New Jersey, sources said.

Burress was afraid to go to the hospital, but two hours after the shooting, at 2 a.m., his wife, Tiffany, and a friend escorted him to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell. He was treated and released at about 12:45 p.m., sources said.

But a hospital spokeswoman denied that Burress was ever there.

Cops only learned about the incident after Giants employees quietly reached out to the NYPD to report it, sources said.

When plainclothes officers from the NYPD and local cops arrived at Burress’ mansion in Totowa, N.J., about 5 p.m., they were turned away by his wife – even after ringing the bell five times. “We’ve been through a lot today,” a woman said from inside the home.

“Ma’am, we’re talking to a box,” one of the cops said, referring to the intercom system outside the house. After the chaotic night, Pierce headed to Washington yesterday to prepare for the Giants game against the Redskins today. His attorney told cops Pierce would cooperate if he wouldn’t be charged, sources said.

A Giants rep left Washington yesterday to retrieve the gun in New Jersey and turn it over to investigators, police said.

Still, cops plan to get a warrant to search Pierce’s car because they believe Burress had the gun in his vehicle.