Soccer-Roundup2-Richards out for six weeks after surgery

LONDON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Soccer news in brief from around the world:

* England full back Micah Richards will be out for six weeks following an operation on damaged cartilage in his right knee, Manchester City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson said.

Richards, 19, who travelled to London for the surgery, will definitely miss England's friendly with France on March 26 but should be back for his club, who are challenging for a Champions League place, before the end of the season.

* India coach Bob Houghton has called for a ban on the import of foreign strikers by the country's premier clubs, saying it was affecting the national team's progress.

"Apart from Baichung (Bhutia) and Sunil Chettri, Indian strikers are not regulars in their own clubs. How do you expect that there would be a flurry of quality strikers in the national side?," the Briton told reporters in Kolkata.

* Ireland will meet Colombia in a friendly at Fulham's Craven Cottage ground in London on May 29, the Ireland FA said.

The match will be Giovanni Trapattoni's second game in charge of Ireland after a fixture at Croke Park on May 24 when the Irish take on Serbia.