Perhaps the end of the road has already arrived for Steven Gerrard. Perhaps there will be no further additions to the 861 senior appearances of his decorated career.

Gerrard’s injury-enforced absence from LA Galaxy’s 3-1 victory over Real Salt Lake in the end-of-season MLS Cup play-offs raises major question marks over whether there will be a fitting finale to the 36-year-old’s chapter as a player.

The former England captain is out-of-contract at Galaxy when the MLS season concludes in a month and the widespread belief in California is that he will end his stint at the club, particularly if a possible avenue to return to Anfield in a coaching capacity materialises.

Emmanuel Boateng celebrates with Alan Gordon and Sebastian Lletget as LA Galaxy win

Galaxy were able to get the better of Real Salt Lake despite Steven Gerrard and Robbie Keane not starting

MATCH FACTS LA GALAXY: Rowe, Rogers, Van Damme, Cole, Steres, Boateng (Magee 76), Husidic, Donovan (Larentowicz 87), Lletget, dos Santos, Gordon (Keane 52). Subs not used: Romney, Garcia, Kennedy, DeLaGarza. Booked: Husidic (62) REAL SALT LAKE: Rimando, Phillips, Schuler, Wingert (Allen 74), Glad, Sunny, Morales (Mulholland 69), Beckerman, Martinez (Movsisyan 58), Garcia, Plata. Subs not used: Stertzer, Acosta, Olave, Fernandez. Booked: Phillips (39), Wingert (41), Sunny (71) Referee: Alan Kelly Attendance: 18,124 Advertisement

Galaxy’s progression into the western conference semi-finals of the MLS play-offs - the knock-out competition which prolongs the campaign before deciding the overall league winners - leaves a window of opportunity for Gerrard to return, with the two legs against Colorado Rapids held over the next two weekends.

But Gerrard has been plagued by a hamstring problem throughout the second half of the campaign, which has continued to fester. A return to Merseyside for treatment earlier this month didn’t sufficiently ease the issue to allow him to participate in full training on the eve of the encounter, hence his exclusion from the entire squad.

He was limited to the post of chief cheerleader against Salt Lake; occupying a place on the bench decked in a club tracksuit, where he spent much of the encounter chatting with Robbie Keane.

Robbie Keane did not start the game but came off the bench in the second half

Landon Donovan is brought down by Real Salt Lake midfielder Luke Mulholland

Keane was similarly limited to light training this week in his recovery from a hip issue and like fellow Designated Player Gerrard, is expected to leave the club next month when his deal expires, albeit he has expressed a desire to remain in North America.

But Keane - reaching the conclusion of a five-year spell at Galaxy - was at least able to take a place among the substitutes and entered the fray early in the second half when the game was already all-but sealed.

It was Keane’s fellow Spurs old boy Giovani dos Santos who had provided the crucial touch in the build-up to Galaxy’s 14th minute opener, as the hosts’ early one-way pressure paid off.

Dos Santos flicked on Landon Donovan’s right wing cross at the near post and it utterly deceived goalkeeper Nick Rimando, who flapped at thin air as the ball looped over him and presented centre-forward Alan Gordon with an unmissable opportunity to cushion into the empty net.

Real Salt Lake defender Justen Glad (right) stops a shot by Galaxy forward Robbie Rogers

The advantage was a brief one, as Salt Lake were gifted a spot-kick in their first attacking foray of the game - Javier Morales getting the wrong side of winger Emmanuel Boateng and hitting the deck after minimal contact.

Referee Alan Kelly was sufficiently convinced by the slender collision and Ecuadorian international Joao Plata planted the subsequent penalty beyond the dive of goalkeeper Brian Rowe.

Gordon somehow fluffed the opportunity to immediately restore the advantage when he directed his free header wide from four yards out after a defensive surrender to Dos Santos’ inswinging free-kick.

Former England international Ashley Cole beats Juan Martinez to the ball

Jelle Van Damme holds off a challenge by Olmes Garcia

But it mattered not, as Boateng made amends for conceding the penalty by slaloming through four feeble attempted tackles on the edge of the area before poking the ball beyond Rimando.

The impressive Boateng doubled his tally before the break as he again exposed the limitations of the Salt Lake defence - beating right-back Demar Phillips with raw pace down the right-hand side of the area and then calmly clipping the ball into the far corner.

Comfortable with that two-goal advantage, Galaxy - winners of the competition two years ago - coasted through the second half, without ever being seriously threatened or showing a massive inclination to add to their tally.

Salt Lake skipper Kyle Beckerman sent a looping header against the top of the crossbar in the dying stages, but that was the only meaningful effort of the half.

Even without two of their star men in the starting XI, Galaxy were still a cut above their visitors, and with a trio of Donovan, dos Santos and Ashley Cole, boasted three players well-rehearsed in pressurised encounters.

Joao Plata scores on a penalty for Real Salt Lake to make it 1-1

The closest Keane came to a breakthrough was a wasted counter-attack by former US international Robbie Rogers, who was caught in possession rather than picking out Ireland’s record goal-scorer in space on the far side of the penalty area.

But Keane should at least get another opportunity to appear in a Galaxy shirt. It’s uncertain whether the same can be said of his former Liverpool team-mate Gerrard.

In Toronto, Sebastian Giovinco, Jonathan Osorio and Jozy Altidore scored to produce a 3-1 win over Philadelphia at BMO Field.

Giovinco scored in the 15th minute, Osorio in the 48th and Altidore five minutes from time as Toronto earned their first-ever playoff win in their 10-year existence.

Alejandro Bedoya scored in the 73rd minute to bring Philadelphia back within a goal, but Altidore banished all hopes of a comeback when he scored on the counterattack in the 85th minute as Philadelphia pushed for an equalizer.