  We determine the functional behavior near the discrete rotational symmetry
axis of discrete vortices of the nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation. We show that
these solutions present a central phase singularity whose charge is restricted
by symmetry arguments. Consequently, we demonstrate that the existence of
high-charged discrete vortices is related to the presence of other off-axis
phase singularities, whose positions and charges are also restricted by
symmetry arguments. To illustrate our theoretical results, we offer two
numerical examples of high-charged discrete vortices in photonic crystal fibers
showing hexagonal discrete rotational invariance.
